Magnetoelectric (ME) effect is defined as the change in dielectric polarization (P) of a material under an applied magnetic field (H) or an induced magnetization (M) under an external electric field (E). ME materials have attracted number of investigators due to their potential for improving applications such as magnetic field sensors, filters, transformers, memory devices and energy harvesters. It has been shown both experimentally and theoretically that the composite structures consisting of piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phases possess stronger ME coupling in comparison to that of single phase materials. Giant magnetoelectric effect has been reported in variety of composites consisting of bulk-sized ME composites and thin film ME nanostructures. In this dissertation, novel ME composite systems are proposed, synthesized and characterized in both bulk and thin films to address the existing challenges in meeting the needs of practical applications. Two applications were the focused upon in this study, tunable transformer and dual phase energy harvester, where requirements can be summarized as: high ME coefficient under both on-resonance and off-resonance conditions, broad bandwidth, and low applied DC bias. In the first chapter, three challenges related to the conventional ME behavior in bulk ME composites have been addressed (1) The optimized ME coefficient can be achieved without external DC magnetic field by using a self-biased ME composite with a homogenous magnetostrictive material. The mechanism of such effect and its tunability are studied; (2) A near-flat ME response regardless of external magnetic field is obtained in a self-biased ME composite with geometry gradient structure; (3) By optimizing interfacial coupling with co-firing techniques, the ME coefficient can be dramatically enhanced. Theses co-fired ME laminates not only exhibit high coupling coefficient due to direct bonding, but also illustrate a self-biased effect due to the built-in stress during co-sintering process. These results present significant advancement toward the development of multifunctional ME devices since it eliminates the need for DC bias, expands the working bandwidth and enhances the ME voltage coefficient. Next, magnetoelectric nanocomposites were developed for understanding the nature of the growth of anisotropic thin film structures. In this chapter following aspects were addressed: (1) Controlled growth of nanostructures with well-defined morphology was obtained. Microstructure and surface morphology evolution of the piezoelectric BaTiO3 films was systematically analyzed. A growth model was proposed by considering the anisotropy of surface energy and the formation of twin lamellae structure within the frame work of Structure Zone Model (SZM) and Dynamic Scaling Theory (DST). In parallel to BaTiO3 films, well-ordered nanocomposite arrays [Pb1.1(Zr0.6Ti0.4)O3/CoFe2O4] with controlled grain orientation were developed and investigated by a novel hybrid deposition method. The influence of the pre-deposited template film orientation on the growth of ME composite array was studied. (2) PZT/CFO/PZT thick composite film and BTO/CFO thin film were synthesized using sol-gel deposition (SGD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) techniques, respectively. The HRTEM analysis revealed local microstructure at the interface of consecutive constituents. The interfacial property variation of these films was found to affect the coupling coefficient of corresponding ME nanocomposites. Subsequently, a novel complex three-dimensional ME composite with highly anisotropic structure was developed using a hybrid synthesis method. The influence of growth condition on the microstructure and property of the grown complex composites was studied. The film with highly anisotropic structure was found to possess tailored ferroelectric response indicating the promise of this synthesis method and microstructure. Based on the laminated ME composites, three types of ME tunable transformer designs were designed and fabricated. The goal was to develop a novel ME transformer with tunable performance (voltage gain and/or working resonance frequency) under applied DC magnetic field. Conventional ME transformers need either winding coil or large external magnetic field to achieve the tunable feature. Considering the high ME coupling of ME laminate, two ME transformers were developed by epoxy bonding Metglas with transversely/longitudinally poled piezoelectric ceramic transformer. The influence of different operation modes toward magnetoelectric tunability was analyzed. In addressing the concern of the epoxy bonding interface, a co-fired ME transformer with unique piezoelectric transformer/magnetostrictive layer/piezoelectric transformer trilayer structure was designed. The design and development strategy of thin film ME transformer was discussed to illustrate the potential for ME transformer miniaturization and on-chip integration. Lastly, motivated by the increasing demand of energy harvesting (EH) systems to support self-powered sensor nodes in structural health monitoring system, a magnetoelectric composite based energy harvester was developed. The development and design concept of the magnetoelectric energy harvester was systematically discussed. In particular, the first dual-phase self-biased ME energy harvester was designed which can simultaneously harness both vibration and stray magnetic field (Hac) in the absence of DC magnetic field. Strain distribution of the EH was simulated using the finite element model (FEM) at the first three resonance frequencies. Additionally, the potential of transferring this simple EH structure into MEMS scalable components was mentioned. These results provide significant advancement toward high energy density multimode energy harvesting system. / Ph. D.

The objective of this thesis is to design, analyze, and fabricate an innovative backpack energy harvester for human walking. To model human walking with backpack energy harvester, a simple dual-mass model has been developed and studied first. Dual-mass model for three types of distinct harvesters were investigated, pure damping, traditional rack pinion energy harvester and our MMR based energy harvester. A comparison in the output power and human comfort between the three types of harvesters is discussed. However, the dual-mass model could not effectively represent human walking in real situation with sinusoidal input, like M shaped Ground Reaction Force (GRF), vertical Center of Mass (COM) motion, etc. Thus, a bipedal walking model has been proposed to simulate human walking with backpack harvester. Experiments were conducted to compare power output and efficiency of MMR based backpack energy harvester with traditional rack pinion backpack energy harvester, and verify conclusions from the bipedal walking model that the proposed backpack energy harvester using mechanical motion rectifier (MMR) mechanism has larger power output than traditional backpack energy harvester at different walking speed. In human treadmill test, subjects were asked to wear the backpack frame which embedded with harvesters walking on a treadmill. Two walking speed, 3mph and 3.5mph, and four resistor values has been tested. The test results showed that the MMR based backpack energy harvester generated more power regardless of resistor values and walking speed. Up to 4.84W average power and instant power of 12.8W could be obtained while the subject walking on the treadmill at 3.5mph speed with MMR based backpack energy harvester. / Master of Science / The objective of this thesis is to design, analyze, and fabricate an innovative backpack energy harvester for human walking. To model human walking with backpack energy harvester, a simple dual-mass model has been developed and studied first. Dual-mass model for three types of distinct harvesters were investigated, pure damping, traditional rack pinion energy harvester and our Mechanical Motion Rectifier based energy harvester. A comparison in the output power and human comfort between the three types of harvesters is discussed. In addition, a bipedal walking model has been proposed to better simulate human walking with backpack harvester than simple dual mass model. Experiments were conducted to compare power output and efficiency of MMR based backpack energy harvester with traditional rack pinion backpack energy harvester, and verify conclusions from the bipedal walking model that the proposed backpack energy harvester using mechanical motion rectifier mechanism has larger power output than traditional backpack energy harvester at different walking speed.. Up to 4.84W average power and instant power of 12.8W could be obtained while the subject walking on the treadmill at 3.5mph speed with MMR based backpack energy harvester. This research could make significant benefit for human live, from student walking while charging their electronics to soldiers during long time mission. This suspended load backpack could reduce load while generating electricity.

In order to avoid the accidents like Fukushima Disaster and monitor the operation status of nuclear power plant, a wireless sensor system which is powered by the Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) Energy Harvester is designed and built. Meanwhile, a power converter circuit has also been designed to converter the output voltage of TEG Energy Harvester to a DC voltage to charge the battery or power the application systems. Several prototypes based on this power converter circuit have been built for Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) energy harvester and tested in both working and laboratory conditions. The reliability of the TEG Energy Harvester system in the gamma radiation environment has been examined in the experiments. Based on the experiments results, the design was optimized. And an optimized Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithm has also been applied in the prototype to extract the maximum power from the TEG Energy Harvester in all conditions. The TEG Energy Harvester system would be greatly simplified as a new type of sensor will be applied. The design of the signal conditioning circuit for this sensor has also been presented. / Master of Science / In this work, a comprehensive electronic systems for Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) Energy Harvester was designed and built. The system consists of two parts. One part is a converter circuit which can regulate the output voltage of the energy harvester and charge the battery efficiently while the other part is data acquisition and wireless communication system, which can collect data via different kinds of sensors and send the data out with the help of wireless communication modules. The prototype of the system was tested with the actual working conditions in the laboratory experiments and later optimized and improved based on the experiments results. An optimized Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithm was applied in the control of the power converter to ensure that the TEG Energy Harvester can output the maximum power in all conditions. Also, a new type of sensor was also developed for future system simplify and improvement.

Hybrid energy harvesting is a concept applied for improving the performance of the conventional stand-alone energy harvesters. The thesis presents the analytical formulations and characterization of a hybrid energy harvester that incorporates photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic mechanisms. The initial voltage required for electrostatic mechanism is obtained by the photovoltaic technique. Other mechanisms are embedded into a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam having a tip magnet and two sets of comb electrodes on two sides of its substructure. All the segments are interconnected by an electric circuit to generate combined output when subjected to vibration and solar illumination. Results for power output have been obtained at resonance frequency using an optimum load resistance. As the power transduced by each of the mechanisms is combined, more power is generated than those obtained by stand-alone mechanisms. The synergistic feature of this research is further promoted by adding fatigue analysis using finite element method.

The work described in this thesis is aimed at developing a novel piezoelectric cantilever energy harvesting circuit, so that more energy can be obtained from a particular piezoelectric harvester than is possible using conventional circuits. The main focus of the work was to design, build and test a proof of principle system, and not a commercial version, so as to determine any limitations to the circuit. The circuit functions by cancelling the capacitive output reactance of the piezoelectric harvester with a simulated inductance, and is based on an idea proposed by Qi in 2011. Although Qi's approach demonstrated that the circuit could function, the system proved too lossy, and so a less lossy version is attempted here. Experimental and software simulations are provided to verify the theoretical predictions. A prototype amplified inductor circuit was simulated and tested. From the simulation results, although harmonic current losses were found in the circuit, it was found that the circuit should produce an amplified effective inductance and a maximum output power of 165mW. The effective inductance is derived from the voltage across the 2H inductor, and this voltage is amplified and applied to the circuit via an inverter, to provide an extra simulated inductance, so that the overall inductance can be resonated with the piezoelectric harvester output capacitance. Hence the capacitive impedance of the harvester is nearly cancelled. The study and analysis of the amplified inductor circuit was carried out for a single cantilever harvester. Both open loop and closed loop testing of the system were carried out. The open loop test showed that the concept should function as predicted. The purpose of the closed loop test was to make the system automatically adjust for different resonance frequencies. The circuit was tested at 52Vpp inverter output voltage, and demonstrated a harvested power of 145.5mW. Experimental results show that the harvester output power is boosted from 8.8mW as per the manufacturer data sheet to 145.5mW (16.5 times). This is approximately double the power available using circuits described in the literature.

<p>The focus of this dissertation is on phenomena exhibited by multistable systems. Two phenomena of particular importance are chaos control and stochastic resonance. In this work, both models that can predict ordered responses and experiments in which ordered responses occur are explored. In addition, parameter identification methods are presented and improved. </p><p>Chaos control, when implemented with delays, can be an effective way to stabilize unstable periodic orbits within a multistable system experiencing a chaotic response. Delayed control is easy to implement physically but greatly increases the complexity of analyzing such systems. In this work, the spectral element method was adapted to evaluate unstable periodic orbits stabilized by feedback control implemented with delays. Examples are presented for Duffing systems in which the delay is equal to the forcing period. The spectral approach is also extended to analyze the control of chaos with arbitrary delays. Control with arbitrary delays can also be used to stabilize equilibria within the chaotic response. These methods for arbitrary delays are explored in self-excited, chaotic systems.</p><p>Stochastic resonance occurs in multistable systems when an increase in noise results in an ordered response. It is well known that noise excitation of multistable systems results in the system escaping from potential wells or switching between wells. In stochastic resonance, a small external signal is amplified due to these switching events. Methods for modeling stochastic resonance in both underdamped and overdamped systems are presented. In addition, stochastic resonance in a bistable, composite beam excited by colored noise is investigated experimentally. The experimental results are compared with analytical models, and the effect of modal masses on the analytical expressions is explored. Finally, an alternative approach for calculating the effect of colored noise excitation is proposed.</p><p>In order to implement analysis methods related to delay differential equations or stochastic resonance, the parameters of the system must be known in advance or determined experimentally. Parameter identification methods provide a natural connection between experiment and theory. In this work, the harmonic balance parameter identification method was applied to beam energy harvesters and is improved using weighting matrices. The method has been applied to a nonlinear, bistable, piezoelectric beam with a tip mass. Then, an experimental method of determining the number of restoring force coefficients necessary to accurately model the systems was demonstrated. The harmonic balance method was also applied to a bistable, beam system undergoing stochastic resonance. Finally, a new weighting strategy is presented based on the signal to noise ratio of each harmonic.</p> / Dissertation

Jellyfish have inhabited this planet for millions of years and are the oldest known metazoans that swim using muscles. They are found in freshwater sources and in oceans all over the world. Over millions of years of evolution, they have adapted to survive in a given environment. They are considered as one of the most energy efficient swimmers. Owing to these characteristics, jellyfish has attracted a lot of attention for developing energy efficient unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). The goal of this thesis is to provide understanding of the different physical mechanisms that jellyfish employs to achieve efficient swimming by using analytical and computational models. The models were validated by using the experimental data from literature. Based upon these models refinements and changes to engineering vehicles was proposed that could lead to significant enhancement in propulsion efficiency. In addition to the propulsion, the thesis addresses the practical aspects of deploying a jellyfish-inspired robotic vehicle by providing insights into buoyancy control and energy generation. The thesis is structured in a manner such that propulsive and structural models inspired from the natural animal were systematically combined with the practical aspects related to ionic diffusion driven buoyancy control system and thermal -- magnetic energy harvesting system. Jellyfish morphology, swimming mechanism and muscle architecture were critically reviewed to accurately describe the natural behavior and material properties. We provide full understanding of mesoglea, which plays most significant role towards swimming performance, in terms of composition, mechanical properties and nonlinear dynamics. Different jellyfish species exhibit different microstructure of mesoglea and thus there is a wide variety of soft materials. Mechanical properties of collagen fibers that form the main constituent toward imparting elasticity to mesoglea were reviewed and analyzed. The thesis discusses the theoretical models describing the role of structure of mesoglea towards its mechanical properties and explains the variation occurring in stiffness under given experimental environment. Muscle architecture found in jellyfish, nerve nets and its interconnection with the muscles were investigated to develop comprehensive understanding of jellyfish propulsion and its reaction to external stimuli. Different muscle arrangements were studied including radial, coronal muscle, and coronal-muscles-with-breaks in-between them as observed in Cyanea capillata. We modeled these muscle arrangements through finite element modeling (FEM) to determine their deformation and stroke characteristics and their overall role in bell contraction. We found that location and arrangement of coronal muscle rings plays an important role in determining their efficient utilization. Once the understanding of natural jellyfish was achieved, we translated the findings onto artificial jellyfish vehicle designed using Bio-inspired Shape Memory Alloy Composite (BISMAC) actuators. Detailed structural modeling was conducted to demonstrate deformation similar to that of jellyfish bell. FEM model incorporated hyperelastic behavior of artificial mesoglea (Ecoflex-0010 RTV, room temperature vulcanizing silicone with shore hardness (0010)), experimentally measured SMA temperature transformation, gravity and buoyancy forces. The model uses the actual control cycle that was optimized for driving the artificial jellyfish vehicle "robojelly". Using a comparative analysis approach, fundamental understanding of the jellyfish bell deformation, thrust generation, and mechanical efficiency were provided. Meeting energy needs of artificial vehicle is of prime importance for the UUVs. Some jellyfish species are known to use photosynthesis process indirectly by growing algae on their exumbrella and thereby utilizing the sunlight to generate energy. Inspired by this concept, an extensive model was developed for harvesting solar energy in underwater environment from the jellyfish bell structure. Three different species were modeled for solar energy harvesting, namely A.aurita, C.capillata and Mastigia sp., using the amorphous silicon solar cell and taking into account effect of fineness ratio, bell diameter, turbidity, depth in water and incidence angle. The models shows that in shallow water with low turbidity a large diameter vehicle may actually generate enough energy as required for meeting the demand of low duty cycle propulsion. In future, when the solar energy harvesting technology based upon artificial photosynthesis, referred to as "dye-sensitized solar cells", matures the model presented here can be easily extended to determine its performance in underwater conditions. In order to supplement the energy demand, a novel concept of thermal -- magnetic energy harvesting was developed and extensively modeled. The proposed harvester design allows capturing of even small temperature differences which are difficult for the thermoelectrics.  A systematic step-by-step model of thermo-magnetic energy harvester was presented and validated against the experimental data available in literature. The multi-physics model incorporates heat transfer, magnetostatic forces, mechanical vibrations, interface contact behavior, and piezoelectric based energy converter. We estimated natural frequency of the harvester, operating temperature regimes, and electromechanical efficiency as a function of dimensional and physical variables. The model provided limit cycle operation regimes which can be tuned using physical variables to meet the specific environment. Buoyancy control is used in aquatic animals in order to maintain their vertical trajectory and travel in water column with minimum energy expense. Some crustaceans employ selective ion replacement of heavy or lighter ions in their dorsal carapace. A model of a buoyancy chamber was developed to achieve similar buoyancy control using electro-osmosis. The model captures all the essential ionic transport and electrochemistry to provide practical operating cycle for the buoyancy engine in the ocean environment. / Ph. D.

Magnetoelectric (ME) effect, a cross-coupling effect between magnetic and electric orders, has stimulated lots of investigations due to the potential for applications as multifunctional devices. In this thesis, I have investigated and optimized the ME effect in Metglas/piezo-fibers ME composites with a multi-push pull configuration. Moreover, I have also proposed several devices based on such composites. In this thesis, several methods for ME composites optimization have been investigated. (i)  the ME coefficients can be enhanced greatly by using single crystal fibers with high piezoelectric properties; (ii) the influence of volume ratio between Metglas and piezo-fibers on ME coefficients has been studied both experimentally and theoretically. Modulating the volume ratio can increase the ME coefficient greatly; and (iii) the annealing process can change the properties of Metglas, which can enhance the ME response as well. Moreover, one differential structure for ME composites has been proposed, which can reject the external vibration noise by a factor of 10 to 20 dB. This differential structure may allow for practical applications of such sensors in real-world environments. Based on optimized ME composites, two types of AC magnetic sensor have been developed. The objective is to develop one alternative type of magnetic sensor with low noise, low cost and room-temperature operation; that makes the sensor competitive with the commercially available magnetic sensor, such as Fluxgate, GMR, SQUID, etc. Conventional passive sensors have been fully investigated, including the design of sensor working at specific frequency range, sensitivity, noise density characterization, etc. Furthermore, the extremely low frequency (< 10-3 Hz) magnetic sensor has undergone a redesign of the charge amplifier circuit. Additionally, the noise model has been established to simulate the noise density for this device which can predict the noise floor precisely. Based on theoretical noise analysis, the noise floor can be eliminated greatly. Moreover, another active magnetic senor based on nonlinear ME voltage coefficient is also developed. Such sensor is not required for external DC bias that can help the sensor for sensor arrays application. Inspired by the bio-behaviors in nature, the geomagnetic sensor is designed for sensing geomagnetic fields; it is also potentially used for positioning systems based on the geomagnetic field. In this section, some works for DC sensor optimization have been performed, including the different piezo-fibers, driving frequency and magnetic flux concentration. Meanwhile, the lock-in circuit is designed for the magnetic sensor to replace of the commercial instruments. Finally, the man-portable multi-axial geomagnetic sensor has been developed which has the highest resolution of 10 nT for DC magnetic field. Based on the geomagnetic sensor, some demonstrations have been finished, such as orientation monitor, magnetic field mapping, and geomagnetic sensing. Other devices have been also developed besides the magnetic sensor: (i) magnetic energy harvesters are developed under the resonant frequency condition. Especially, one 60 Hz magnetic harvester is designed which can harvester the magnetic energy source generated by instruments; and (ii) frequency multiplication tuned by geomagnetic field is investigated which potentially can be used for frequency multiplier or geomagnetic guidance devices. / Ph. D.

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