Coupling of PZT Thin Films with Bimetallic Strip Heat Engines for Thermal Energy Harvesting.

A thermal energy harvester based on a double transduction mechanism and which converts thermal energy into electrical energy by means of piezoelectric membranes and bimetals, has previously been developed and widely presented in the literature In such a device, the thermo-mechanical conversion is ensured by a bimetal whereas the electro-mechanical conversion is generated by a piezoelectric ceramic. However, it has been shown that only 19% of the mechanical energy delivered by the bimetal during its snap is converted into electrical energy. To extract more energy from the bimetallic strip and to increase the transduction efficiency, a new way to couple piezoelectric materials with bimetals has thus been explored through direct deposition of piezoelectric layers on bimetals. This paper consequently presents an alternative way to harvest heat, based on piezoelectric bimetallic strip heat engines and presents a proof of concept of such a system. In this light, different PZT (Lead zirconate titanate) thin films were synthesized directly on aluminium foils and were attached to the bimetals using conductive epoxy. The fabrication process of each sample is presented herein as well as the experimental tests carried out on the devices. Throughout this study, different thicknesses of the piezoelectric layers and substrates were tested to determine the most powerful configuration. Finally, the study also gives some guidelines for future improvements of piezoelectric bimetals.

Extracellular matrix produced by osteoblasts cultured under low-magnitude, high-frequency stimulation is favourable to osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

The effects of low-magnitude, high-frequency (LMHF) mechanical stimulation on osteoblastic cells are poorly understood. We have developed a system that generates very small (15-40 µÎµ), high-frequency (400 Hz, sine) deformations on osteoblast cultures (MC3T3-E1). We investigated the effects of these LMHF stimulations mainly on extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. The functional properties of this ECM after decellularization were evaluated on C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). LMHF stimulations were applied 20 min once daily for 1, 3, or 7 days in MC3T3-E1 culture (1, 3, or 7 dLMHF). Cell number and viability were not affected after 3 or 7 dLMHF. Osteoblast response to LMHF was assessed by an increase in nitric oxide secretion, alteration of the cytoskeleton, and focal contacts. mRNA expression for fibronectin, osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, and type I collagen in LMHF cultures were 1.8-, 1.6-, 1.5-, and 1.7-fold higher than controls, respectively (P < 0.05). In terms of protein, osteopontin levels were increased after 3 dLMHF and ECM organization was altered as shown by fibronectin topology after 7 dLMHF. After decellularization, 7 dLMHF-ECM or control ECM was reseeded with MSCs. Seven dLMHF-ECM improved early events such as cell attachment (2 h) and focal contact adhesion (6 h) and, later (16 h), modified MSC morphological parameters. After 5 days in multipotential medium, gene-expression changes indicated that 7 dLMHF-ECM promoted the expression of osteoblast markers at the expense of adipogenic marker. LMHF stimulations of osteoblasts are therefore efficient and sufficient to generate osteogenic matrix.

Synthesis of polystyrene coated SiC nanowires as fillers in a polyurethane matrix for electromechanical conversion.

Grafting of polystyrene (PS) from silica coating of silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNWs) has been performed by a two-step nitroxide mediated free radical polymerization (NMP) of styrene. First, an alkoxyamine based on N-tert-butyl-N-(1-diethylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl) nitroxide (DEPN) was covalently attached onto NWs through free surface silanol groups. To immobilize the alkoxyamine initiator on the silica surface, alkoxylamine was formed in situ by the simultaneous reaction of polymerizable acryloxy propyl trimethoxysilane (APTMS), azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN), and DEPN, which was used as a radical trap. Polystyrene chains with controlled molecular weights and narrow polydispersity were then grown from the alkoxyamine-functionalized NWs surface in the presence of a 'free' sacrificial styrylDEPN alkoxyamine. Both the initiator and polystyrene chains were characterized by FTIR and (13)C solid-state NMR and quantified by TGA. Ensuing nanocomposites were characterized by FEG-SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy. EDX analysis performed on functionalized nanowires during FEG-SEM analysis also gave evidence of grafting by a strong increase in the average C/Si atomic ratio. Incorporation of 2 wt% NWs into the polyurethane (PU) matrix has been carried out to prepare homogeneous nanocomposite films. The electric field induced thickness strain response has been investigated for the polystyrene-grafted silica coated SiC NWs (PU-SiC@SiO(2)@PS) nanocomposites and compared to pure polyurethane film and PU-SiC@SiO(2) nanocomposite without polystyrene grafting. At a moderate electric field of 10 V microm(-1), SiC@SiO(2)@PS loading increased the strain level of pure PU by a factor of 2.2. This improvement came partially due to polystyrene grafting since PU-SiC@SiO(2) films showed only a 1.7 times increase. The observed higher strain response of these nanocomposites makes them very attractive for micro-electromechanical applications.

Nonlinear optimization of acoustic energy harvesting using piezoelectric devices.

In the first part of the paper, a single degree-of-freedom model of a vibrating membrane with piezoelectric inserts is introduced and is initially applied to the case when a plane wave is incident with frequency close to one of the resonance frequencies. The model is a prototype of a device which converts ambient acoustical energy to electrical energy with the use of piezoelectric devices. The paper then proposes an enhancement of the energy harvesting process using a nonlinear processing of the output voltage of piezoelectric actuators, and suggests that this improves the energy conversion and reduces the sensitivity to frequency drifts. A theoretical discussion is given for the electrical power that can be expected making use of various models. This and supporting experimental results suggest that a nonlinear optimization approach allows a gain of up to 10 in harvested energy and a doubling of the bandwidth. A model is introduced in the latter part of the paper for predicting the behavior of the energy-harvesting device with changes in acoustic frequency, this model taking into account the damping effect and the frequency changes introduced by the nonlinear processes in the device.

Energy harvesting based on FE-FE transition in ferroelectric single crystals.

The pyroelectric properties of Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))(0955)Ti(0.045)O(3) single crystals versus an electric field have been studied for energy harvesting in this paper. Two thermodynamic cycles (Stirling and Ericsson) were used for this purpose. By applying an electric field, a FE-FE transition was induced, abruptly increasing the polarization. This transition minimized the supplied energy and improved the harvested energy. By discharging the single crystal at a higher temperature, a gain of 1100% was obtained with the Stirling cycle at 1 kV/mm (gain is defined as harvested energy divided by supplied energy). The study revealed that Stirling cycles are more interesting for low electric fields. Based on experimental results, simulations were carried out to estimate energy harvesting in high electric fields to evaluate the performances of thin samples (single crystals or oriented thin films). At high electric fields, both cycles gave almost the same energy harvesting, but Ericsson cycles were more appropriate to control the voltage on the sample. The simulation led to a harvested energy of 500 mJ/g for an applied electric field equal to 50 kV/mm. The efficiency with respect to Carnot was raised 20%.

Pyroelectric energy conversion: optimization principles.

In the framework of microgenerators, we present in this paper the key points for energy harvesting from temperature using ferroelectric materials. Thermoelectric devices profit from temperature spatial gradients, whereas ferroelectric materials require temporal fluctuation of temperature, thus leading to different applications targets. Ferroelectric materials may harvest perfectly the available thermal energy whatever the materials properties (limited by Carnot conversion efficiency) whereas thermoelectric material's efficiency is limited by materials properties (ZT figure of merit). However, it is shown that the necessary electric fields for Carnot cycles are far beyond the breakdown limit of bulk ferroelectric materials. Thin films may be an excellent solution for rising up to ultra-high electric fields and outstanding efficiency. Different thermodynamic cycles are presented in the paper: principles, advantages, and drawbacks. Using the Carnot cycle, the harvested energy would be independent of materials properties. However, using more realistic cycles, the energy conversion effectiveness remains dependent on the materials properties as discussed in the paper. A particular coupling factor is defined to quantify and check the effectiveness of pyroelectric energy harvesting. It is defined similarly to an electromechanical coupling factor as k2=p2theta0/(epsilontheta33cE), where p, theta0, epsilontheta33, cE are pyroelectric coefficient, maximum working temperature, dielectric permittivity, and specific heat, respectively. The importance of the electrothermal coupling factor is shown and discussed as an energy harvesting figure of merit. It gives the effectiveness of all techniques of energy harvesting (except the Carnot cycle). It is finally shown that we could reach very high efficiency using 1110.75Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)-0.25PbTiO3 single crystals and synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (almost 50% of Carnot efficiency). Finally, practical implementation key points of pyroelectric energy harvesting are presented showing that the different thermodynamic cycles are feasible and potentially effective, even compared to thermoelectric devices.

Nonlinear processing of the output voltage of a piezoelectric transformer.

Reducing the size of power supplies raises the problem of new components that could be better candidates for integration. In this field, electromagnetic transformers may be replaced with significant benefit by piezoelectric transformers (PT). In a PT, the input electrical energy is transferred to the output by an acoustical means, using the direct and converse effects of piezoelectric materials. Its main advantages over an electromagnetic transformer are no magnetic noise generation, small size, high power density, and high efficiency. This paper deals with an innovative technique that produces a significant improvement of the power capability of piezoelectric transformers. This technique is based on a particular output voltage processing of the PT. Its effect is a vibration level reduction of the PT structure while keeping the output power practically constant. Vibration level is a critical parameter that determines the maximum power capability of a given PT. Thus, the new processing reduces significantly the losses of the PT. Both theoretical predictions and experimental results show that the increase of the power capability may reach 200%.

Single crystals and nonlinear process for outstanding vibration-powered electrical generators.

This paper compares the performances of vibration-powered electrical generators using a piezoelectric ceramic and a piezoelectric single crystal associated to several power conditioning circuits. A new approach of the piezoelectric power conversion based on a nonlinear voltage processing is presented, leading to three novel high performance power conditioning interfaces. Theoretical predictions and experimental results show that the nonlinear processing technique may increase the power harvested by a factor of 8 compared to standard techniques. Moreover, it is shown that, for a given energy harvesting technique, generators using single crystals deliver 20 times more power than generators using piezoelectric ceramics.

Fatigue effect of elastocaloric properties in natural rubber.

In the framework of elastocaloric (eC) refrigeration, the fatigue effect on the eC effect of natural rubber (NR) is investigated. Repetitive deformation cycles at engineering strain regime from 1 to 6 results in a rapid rupture (approx. 800 cycles). Degradation of properties and fatigue life are then investigated at three different strain regimes with the same strain amplitude: before onset strain of strain-induced crystallization (SIC) (strain regime of 0-3), onset strain of melting (strain regime of 2-5) and high strain of SIC (strain regime of 4-7). Strain of 0-3 leads to a low eC effect and cracking after 2000 cycles. Strain of 2-5 and 4-7 results in an excellent crack growth resistance and much higher eC effect with adiabatic temperature changes of 3.5 K and 4.2 K, respectively, thanks to the effect of SIC. The eC stress coefficient index γ (ratio between eC temperature change and applied stress) for strains of 2-5 and 4-7 are γ2-5=4.4 K MPa(-1) and γ4-7=1.6 K MPa(-1), respectively, demonstrating the advantage of the strain regime 2-5. Finally, a high-cycle test up to 1.7×10(5) cycles is successfully applied to the NR sample with very little degradation of eC properties, constituting an important step towards cooling applications.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'.

Modeling of elastic nonlinearities in ferroelectric materials including nonlinear losses: application to nonlinear resonance mode of relaxors single crystals.

(1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PMN-PT) and (1-x)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PZN-PT) single crystals are considered to behave like soft Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) ceramics because of their small mechanical quality factor Qm and poor stability under external disturbances (Qm > 500-1000 for hard PZT ceramic, and Qm < 100 for soft PZT and PMN-PT and PZN-PT single crystals). At weak signal excitation of the first resonance mode, the displacement at the end of a lateral bar is proportional to the Q31d31 figure of merit that is very close to that found for hard PZT. Indeed the very large piezoelectric coefficient compensates the low Qm. But increasing alternating current (AC) field results in the appearance of strong non-linearities through a shift of the resonance frequency and jumps phenomenon observed on increasing and decreasing frequency sweep. It is shown in this paper that these nonlinearities are due to the nonlinear elastic compliance that can be modeled by a third order development of the constitutive piezoelectric equations. Experiments on PMN-PT and PZN-PT single crystals are used for comparison with the model to show the viability of the approach. Both the frequency shift and jumps phenomenon are simulated with a very good agreement with experimental results. The importance is also shown of losses associated with the third order term responsible for the large decrease of the mechanical quality factor for high strain levels. Thus, the nonlinear losses are related to the hysteresis of domain wall motion when subjected to large displacements.

Toward energy harvesting using active materials and conversion improvement by nonlinear processing.

This paper presents a new technique of electrical energy generation using mechanically excited piezoelectric materials and a nonlinear process. This technique, called synchronized switch harvesting (SSH), is derived from the synchronized switch damping (SSD), which is a nonlinear technique previously developed to address the problem of vibration damping on mechanical structures. This technique results in a significant increase of the electromechanical conversion capability of piezoelectric materials. Comparatively with standard technique, the electrical harvested power may be increased above 900%. The performance of the nonlinear processing is demonstrated on structures excited at their resonance frequency as well as out of resonance.

Stability of morphotropic (110) oriented 0.65PMN-0.35PT single crystals.

Electromechanical properties of (1-x)Pb (Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PMN-PT) single crystals with x = 0.35 were investigated as a function of different external disturbances. The polarization dependence on the electromechanical properties was first studied in order to determine the best polarization path. The correlation with X-ray measured phase ratio is presented and shows that the maximum of electromechanical properties may be correlated with a minimum rhombohedral/tetragonal phase ratio. Temperature, stress, electric field, and time (aging) stability was studied in order to determine performance-limiting factors of these materials. The rhombohedral/tetragonal phase transition is observed on temperature (80 degrees C), inducing a decrease of the electromechanical coupling factor (from 85% to 50%); but the whole properties are recovered while returning to room temperature. Stress measurement shows a large depoling of sample for stresses above 30 MPa. The PMN-PT single crystals were found to be surprisingly stable during aging, except for mechanical and dielectric losses. The same tendency was found on alternating current (AC) electric field dependence.

Switching loss reduction in nonlinear piezoelectric conversion under pulsed loading.

Energy conversion enhancement of piezoelectric materials has been subject to intensive research over the last decade. Among the proposed solutions (for instance, single crystal), it has been shown that applying a simple and low-cost nonlinear treatment to the voltage output can significantly increase the conversion abilities of such materials. However, such an approach also adds significant electrical losses, dramatically reducing the available electric energy generated from the mechanical excitation. Such an observation is even more important when the energy in the system is limited, for example when the structure is submitted to a pulsed excitation. The purpose of this paper is to describe an efficient approach for reducing such losses, based on the transfer of the electrostatic energy when it starts to decrease. It is shown that such an approach allows increasing the converted energy by a gain up to a factor of 3, especially for weakly coupled electromechanical systems.

Investigation of electrostrictive polymer efficiency for mechanical energy harvesting.

The purpose of this paper is to propose new means for harvesting energy using electrostrictive polymers. Recent trends in energy conversion mechanisms have demonstrated the abilities of electrostrictive polymers for converting mechanical vibrations into electricity. In particular, such materials present advantageous features such as a high productivity, high flexibility, and ease of processing; hence, the application of these materials for energy harvesting purposes has been of significant interest over the last few years. This paper discusses the development of a model that is able to predict the energy harvesting capabilities of an electrostrictive polymer. Moreover, the energy scavenging abilities of an electrostrictive composite composed of terpolymer poly(vinylidenefluoride-trofluoroethylene- chlorofluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)] filled with 1 vol% carbon black (C) is evaluated. Experimental measurements of the harvested power and current have been compared with the theoretical behavior predicted by the proposed model. A good agreement was observed between the two sets of data, which consequently validated the proposed modeling to optimize the choice of materials. It was also shown that the incorporation of nanofillers in P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) increased the harvested power.

Analysis of ac-dc conversion for energy harvesting using an electrostrictive polymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE).

Harvesting systems capable of transforming unused environmental energy into useful electrical energy have been extensively studied for the last two decades. The recent development of electrostrictive polymers has generated new opportunities for harvesting energy. The contribution of this study lies in the design and validation of electrostrictive polymer- based harvesters able to deliver dc output voltage to the load terminal, making the practical application of such material for self-powered devices much more realistic. Theoretical analysis supported by experimental investigations showed that an energy harvesting module with ac-to-dc conversion allows scavenging power up to 7 µW using a bias electric field of 10 V/µm and a transverse strain of 0.2%. This represents a power density of 280 µW/cm(3) at 100 Hz, which is much higher than the corresponding values of most piezo-based harvesters.

Low-cost capacitor voltage inverter for outstanding performance in piezoelectric energy harvesting.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new scheme for piezoelectric energy harvesting optimization. The proposed enhancement relies on a new topology for inverting the voltage across a single capacitor with reduced losses. The increase of the inversion quality allows a much more effective energy harvesting process using the so-called synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) nonlinear technique. It is shown that the proposed architecture, based on a 2-step inversion, increases the harvested power by a theoretical factor up to square root of 2 (i.e., 40% gain) compared with classical SSHI, allowing an increase of the harvested power by a factor greater than 1000% compared with the standard energy harvesting technique for realistic values of inversion components. The proposed circuit, using only 4 digital switches and an intermediate capacitor, is also ultra-low power, because the inversion circuit does not require any external energy and the command signals are very simple.

Modeling and experimentation on an electrostrictive polymer composite for energy harvesting.

The harvesting of energy from ambient environments is an emerging technology with potential for numerous applications, including portable electronic devices for renewable energy. Most of the current research activities refer to classical piezoelectric ceramic materials, but more recently the development of electrostrictive polymers has generated novel opportunities for high-strain actuators. At present, the investigation of using electrostrictive polymers for energy harvesting (a conversion of mechanical to electrical energy) is beginning to show potential for this application. This paper discusses the development of a model that is able to predict the energy harvesting capabilities of an electrostrictive polymer composite (EPC). An equivalent electrical scheme has been developed by using the model of current that was recently developed by our group. After the validation of the model on a macroscopic level, an empirical relationship was established to predict the value of power from the electrostriction coefficient, the dielectric permittivity, and the compliance of the material. Finally, results indicated that the dielectric permittivity was the crucial parameter for energy harvesting.

Fractional derivative operators for modeling the dynamic polarization behavior as a function of frequency and electric field amplitude.

Polarization phenomena in ferroelectric materials are frequency-dependent, and the present article describes the use of a fractional derivative for the understanding of these phenomena as well as modeling them as functions of frequency and electric field amplitude. The focus was first directed toward the definition and validation of the proposed model through comparisons between simulations and measurements for high electrical field excitation amplitudes on a large frequency bandwidth (major hysteresis loops, measured over 4 decades). Subsequently, the same comparisons were made under ultra-weak as well as weak electric fields. Large frequency bandwidths were tested in each case, and it was shown that the fractional term provided a very accurate modeling of the dynamic behavior of the ferroelectrics. The dielectric permittivity coefficient along the polarization direction epsilon(33)is a major parameter in ferroelectrics, and the frequency dependence of epsilon(33) is correctly reproduced by the model. The time-dependence of the polarization reversal/variation was accurately simulated by a fractional derivation (a 0.5 order derivative), however, the use of a first-order derivation term (i.e., viscous losses) was in poor agreement with experimental results. It was found that the model was valid for large excitation field amplitudes as well as for large frequency bandwidths.

Nonlinear pyroelectric energy harvesting from relaxor single crystals.

Energy harvesting from temperature variations in a Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))(0.955)Ti(0.045)O(3) single crystal was studied and evaluated using the Ericsson thermodynamic cycle. The efficiency of this cycle related to Carnot cycle is 100 times higher than direct pyroelectric energy harvesting, and it can be as high as 5.5% for a 10 degrees C temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field. The amount of harvested energy for a 60 degrees C temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field is 242.7 mJ x cm(-3). The influence of ferroelectric phase transitions on the energy harvesting performance is discussed and illustrated with experimental results.

Double synchronized switch harvesting (DSSH): a new energy harvesting scheme for efficient energy extraction.

This paper presents a new technique for optimized energy harvesting using piezoelectric microgenerators called double synchronized switch harvesting (DSSH). This technique consists of a nonlinear treatment of the output voltage of the piezoelectric element. It also integrates an intermediate switching stage that ensures an optimal harvested power whatever the load connected to the microgenerator. Theoretical developments are presented considering either constant vibration magnitude, constant driving force, or independent extraction. Then experimental measurements are carried out to validate the theoretical predictions. This technique exhibits a constant output power for a wide range of load connected to the microgenerator. In addition, the extracted power obtained using such a technique allows a gain up to 500% in terms of maximal power output compared with the standard energy harvesting method. It is also shown that such a technique allows a fine-tuning of the trade-off between vibration damping and energy harvesting.