Energy Harvesting from Vibrations

Kinetic energy harvesting (KEH) is a process by which kinetic energy from motion or vibrations is collected and converted into electrical energy. This process can be used to provide power to small electronic devices, such as sensors, wearables, IoTs, that might not otherwise have access to a power source. It is also a sustainable energy source, as it does not rely on finite resources, such as fossil fuels. Kinetic energy harvesting works by using a variety of different technologies to capture the kinetic energy associated with motion or vibrations, and convert it into electrical energy. Such technologies may include piezoelectric materials, magnetic induction, or other methods. Once the energy is collected, it is then stored in a battery or capacitor, allowing it to be used at a later time.

We at Smart Material focus on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting (PEH).

It is important to notice that piezo electric harvesters are most economic if used for low power requirements < 1Ws (1J). This is by many magnitudes less than compared with state of the art Solar cells/panels and TEGs and should be always considered for design/application feasibility.

The development of piezoelectric composite material, like the MFC, helped overcome some of the limitations of the monolithic piezo ceramic components, especially brittleness, lack of reliability, and conformability.

Advances in ultra-low power electronic components have made a new type of electronic device possible: Battery free, autonomous devices functioning solely on harvesting mechanical vibrations with piezoelectric components.

Applications for MFC vibration harvesters:

• Resonant and non-resonant vibration energy harvester
• Autonomous data acquisition systems, IoTs
• Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
• Active RFID systems
• Wearables

Battery free, autonomous devices

Complete battery free devices based on piezo electric harvesters are a reality today. Complete electronic devices with a power consumption of <10mWs (10mJ) can be manufactured cost-effectively.

With a connected storage for excess energy like a super cap or thin film battery, higher burst consumption as normally required for RF telemetry can be accomodated as well. Energy harvesters based on the MFC have a lifetime of more than 10 years ( ‹ 10Hz and 600ppm), which is necessary in order to compete with battery based devices.

Designing piezo electric vibration harvesters is not an easy task. It requires knowledge and skill in mechanics, piezo ceramics and electronics to design systems that are cost-effective and highly efficient. Typically efficacy of todays piezo electric harvester range between 4-10%.

Smart Material is actively involved in the research and development of vibration energy harvesters. We have developed the P2 type MFC line mostly as an optimized version for energy harvesting applications. The MFCs with item numbers M2814P2, M8514P2, M8528P2, M8557P2 and M8585P2 are the preferred components used in many vibration energy harvesting applications.

Smart Material also presents its research and results at many of the leading conferences dedicated to the growing energy harvesting applications. Check out our Publications section for references.

Smart Material has developed a series of Evaluation Kits, Electronic Circuits and Harvester Generator Components to help customers studying this interesting field, for rapid prototyping, and the development of energy harvesting applications based on the MFC product line.