Currently, in the railroad industry, the lack of electrical sources in freight cars is a problem that has yet to find practical solutions. Although the locomotive generates electricity to power the traction motors and all the equipment required to operate the train, the electrical power cannot, in a practical manner, be carried out along the length of the train, leaving freight cars unpowered. While this has not been a major issue in the past, there is a strong interest in equipping modern cars with a myriad of devices intended to improve safety, operational efficiency, or health monitoring, using devices such as GPS, active RFID tags, and accelerometers. The implementation of such devices, however, is hindered by the unavailability of electricity. Although ideas such as Timken's generator roller bearing or solar panels exist, the railroads have been slow in adopting them for different reasons, including cost, difficulty of implementation, or limited capabilities. The focus of this research is on the development of vibration-based electromechanical energy harvesting systems that would provide electrical power in a freight car. With size and shape similar to conventional shock absorbers, these devices are designed to be placed in parallel with the suspension elements, possibly inside the coil spring, thereby maximizing unutilized space. When the train is in motion, the suspension will accommodate the imperfections of the track, and its relative velocity is used as the input for the harvester, which converts the mechanical energy to useful electrical energy. Beyond developing energy harvesters for freight railcar primary suspensions, this study explores track wayside and miniature systems that can be deployed for applications other than railcars. The trackside systems can be used in places where electrical energy is not readily available, but where, however, there is a need for it. The miniature systems are useful for applications such as bicycle energy. Beyond the design and development of the harvesters, an extensive amount of laboratory testing was conducted to evaluate both the amount of electrical power that can be obtained and the reliability of the components when subjected to repeated vibration cycles. Laboratory tests, totaling more than two million cycles, proved that all the components of the harvester can satisfactorily survive the conditions to which they are subjected in the field. The test results also indicate that the harvesters are capable of generating up to 50 Watts at 22 Vrms, using a 10-Ohm resistor with sine wave inputs, and over 30 Watts at peak with replicated suspension displacements, making them suitable to directly power onboard instruments or to trickle charge a battery. / Ph. D.

MEMS devices are finding application in diverse fields that include energy harvesting, microelectronics and sensors. In energy harvesting, MEMS scale devices are employed due to its efficiencies of scale. The miniaturization of energy harvesters permit them to be integrated as the power supply for sensors often in the same package and also extends their use to remote and extreme ambient applications. Unlike inductive harvesting, piezoelectric and magnetoelectric devices lend easily to MEMS scaling. The processing of such Piezo-MEMS devices often requires special fabrication, characterization and testing techniques. Our research work has focused on the development of the various technologies for a) the better characterization of the constituent materials that make up these devices, b) the conceptualization and structural design of unique MEMS energy harvesters and finally c) the development of the unit operations (many novel) for fabrication and the mechanical and electrical testing of these devices. In this research work, we have pioneered some new approaches to the characterization of thin films utilized in Piezo-MEMS devices: (1) Temperature-Time Transformation (TTT) diagrams are used to document texture evolution during thermal treatment of ceramics. Multinomial and multivariate regression techniques were utilized to create the predictor models for TTT data of Pb(Zr0.60Ti0.40 O3) sol-gel thin films. (2) We correlated the composition (measured using Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA)) of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48 O3) RF sputtered thin films to its optical dispersion properties measured using Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE). Wemple-DiDomenico, Jackson-Amer, Tauc and Urbach optical dispersion factors and Lorentz Lorenz polarizability relationships were combined to realize a model for predicting the elemental content of any thin film system. (3) We developed in house capability for strain analysis of magnetostrictive thin films using laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV). We determined a methodology to convert the displacements measurements of AC magnetic field induced vibrations of thin film samples into magnetostriction values. (4) Finally, we report the novel use of a thermo-optic technique, Time Domain Thermoreflectance (TDTR) in the study of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin film texturing. Time Domain Thermoreflectance (TDTR) has been proved to be capable of measuring thermal properties of atomic layers and interfaces. Therefore, we utilized TDTR to analyze and model the heat transport at the nano scale and correlate with different PZT crystalline orientations. To harvest energy at the low frequency (<100Hz) of ambient vibrations, MEMS energy harvesters require special structures. Extensive research has led us to the development of Circular Zigzag structure that permits inertial mass free attainment of such low frequencies. In addition to Si micromachining, we have fabricated such structures using a new Micro water jet micromachining of thin piezo sheets, unimorphs and bimorphs. For low frequency magnetic energy harvesting, we also fabricated the first magnetoelectric macro fiber composite. This device also employs a novel low temperature metallic bonding technique to fuse the magnetostrictive layer to the piezoelectric layers. A special low viscosity epoxy enabled the joining of the flexible circuit to the magnetoelectric fibers. Lastly, we developed a nondimensional tunable Piezo harvester, called PiezoCap, which decouples the energy harvesting component of the device from the resonant vibration component. We do so by using magnets loaded on piezo harvester strips, thereby making them piezomagnetoelastic and vary the spacing between 2 magnet+piezoelectric pairs to eliminate dimensionality and permit active tunability of the harvester's resonant frequency. / Ph. D.

Although the locomotive of a train is energized, in general, other railcars are not. This prevents commercial rail companies from installing sensor equipment on the railcars. Thus, several different solutions have been proposed to provide energy for commercial railcars. One such solution is a vibration-based energy harvester which can be mounted in the suspension coils of the railcar. The harvester translates the linear motion of the suspension vibration into rotational motion to turn a 3-phase AC generator. When subjected to real-world suspension displacements, the harvester is capable of generating peak energy levels in excess of 70 W, although the average energy harvested is much lower, around 1 W. A battery pack can be used to store the useful energy harvested. However, a power conditioning circuit is required to convert the 3-phase AC energy from the harvester into DC for the battery pack. The power converter should be capable of extracting maximum power from the energy harvester as well as acting as a battery manager. Experimental results with the energy harvester conclude that maximum power can be extracted if the harvester is loaded with 2 . In order to maintain a constant input impedance, the duty cycle of the power converter must be fixed. Conversely, output regulation requires the duty cycle to change dynamically. Consequently, there is a tradeoff between extracting maximum power and prolonging the battery life cycle. The proposed converter design aims to achieve both maximum power transfer and battery protection by automatically switching between control modes. The proposed converter design uses an inverting buck-boost converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode to maintain a constant input impedance through a fixed duty cycle. This constant input impedance mode is used to extract maximum power from the harvester when the battery is not close to fully charged. When the battery is near fully charged, extracting maximum power is not as important and the duty cycle can be controlled to regulate the output. Specifically, one-cycle control is used to regulate the output by monitoring the input voltage and adjusting the duty cycle accordingly. Finally, the converter is designed to shut down once the battery has been fully charged to prevent overcharging. The result is a power converter that extracts maximum power from the energy harvester for as long as possible before battery protection techniques are implemented. Previous related studies are discussed, tradeoffs in converter design are explained in detail, and an experimental prototype is used to confirm operation of the proposed control scheme. / Master of Science

Energy harvesting is a technology for generating electrical power from ambient or wasted energy. It has been investigated extensively as a means of powering small electronic devices. The recent proliferation of devices with ultra-low power consumption - devices such as RF transmitters, sensors, and integrated chipsets - has created new opportunities for energy harvesters. There is a variety of ambient energies such as vibration, thermal, solar, stray current, etc. Depending on energy sources, different kinds of energy conversion mechanism should be employed. For energy harvesters to become practical, their energy conversion efficiency must improve. This efficiency depends upon advances in two areas: the system or structural design of the energy harvester, and the properties of the materials employed in energy conversion. This dissertation explores developments in both areas. In the first area, the role of nano-, micro-, and bulk structure of the energy conversion materials were investigated. In the second area, piezoelectric energy harvesters and a magneto-thermoelectric generator are treated from the perspective of system design. In the area of materials development, PbTiO3 (PTO) nanostructures consisting of nanofibers and three-dimensional (3-D) nanostructure arrays were hydrothermally synthesized. The growth mechanism of the PTO nanofibers and 3-D nanostructures were investigated experimentally and theoretically. The PTO nanostructures were composed of oriented PTO crystals with high tetragonality; these arrays could be promising candidates for nanogenerators. Different designs for energy harvesters were explored as a means of improving energy conversion efficiency. Piezoelectric energy harvesters were designed and constructed for applications with a low frequency vibrational energy and for applications with a broadband energy spectrum. A spiral MEMS piezoelectric energy harvester design was fabricated using a silicon MEMS process and demonstrated to extract high power density at ultra-low resonance frequencies and low acceleration conditions. For a broadband energy harvester, a magnetically-coupled array of oscillators was designed and built that broadened the harvester's effective resonance frequency with considerably improved output power. A new design concept for thermal energy harvesting that employs a magneto-thermoelectric generator (MTG) design was proposed. The MTG exploits a thermally-induced second order phase transition in a soft magnetic material near the Curie temperature. The MTG harvested electric power from oscillations of the soft magnet between hot and cold sources. For the MTG design, suitable soft magnetic materials were selected and developed using La0.85Sr0.15MnO3-Ni0.6Cu0.2Zn0.2Fe2O4 magnetic composites. The MTG was fabricated from a PVDF cantilever and a gadolinium (Gd) soft magnetic material. The feasibility of the design for harvesting energy from the waste heat was demonstrated by attaching an MTG array to a computer CPU. / PHD

The proposed energy harvesting system intends to harvest vibrational energy via an electromagnetic generator (EMG). The proposed circuit intends to extract maximum power from the EMG by utilizing the maximum power transfer theorem which states that maximum power is transferred to the load when the source resistance equals the load resistance. The proposed circuit is a synchronous split-capacitor boost converter operating in boundary conduction mode (BCM) to achieve impedance matching and therefore maximum power transferred to the load. The circuit topology combines the rectifier and power stage to reduce power loss of the power management integrated circuit (PMIC). The proposed circuit is designed and fabricated in 130 nm BiCMOS technology. The circuit is validated through schematic level simulations and post-layout simulations. The results conclude the proposed circuit and control operates in a manner to achieve BCM. / Master of Science / Tracking and monitoring systems and products has become more prevalent in our society. Consumers want to know when a package they ordered will arrive. Grocery stores would like to track a produce from harvest to the shelves, ensuring their produce is safe to eat. Produce should be kept around 0 °C and if it exceeds that anywhere during the supply chain, the store should be alerted. Wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) are such devices that would be able to monitor the temperature of produce or the location of a package. These devices must be small, reliable, long-life and cost efficient. Using a battery to power WSNs is an inconvenience as the battery must be replaced often. The proposed circuit enables a self-sufficient WSN that is compact, dependable, long-lasting and economical when deployed at large scale. The proposed circuit has been designed, fabricated and proven through simulations.

The purpose of this thesis is the development and analysis of applications for ionic polymers as energy harvesting devices. The specific need is a self-contained energy harvester to supply renewable power harvested from ambient vibrations to a wireless sensor. Ionic polymers were investigated as mechanical to electrical energy transducers. An ionic polymer device was designed to harvest energy from vibrations and supply power for a wireless structural health monitoring sensor.The ionic polymer energy harvester is tested to ascertain whether the idea is feasible. Transfer functions are constructed for both the open-circuit voltage and the closed-circuit current. The impedance of the device is also quantified. Using the voltage transfer function and the current transfer function it is possible to calculate the power being produced by the device.Power generation is not the only energy harvesting application of ionic polymers, energy storage is another possibility. The ionic polymer device is tested to characterize its charge and discharge capabilities. It is charged with both DC and AC currents. An energy storage comparison is performed between the ionic polymers and capacitors. While the polymers performed well, the electrolytic capacitors are able to store more energy. However, the ionic polymers show potential as capacitors and have the possibility of improved performance as energy storage devices. Current is measured across resistive loads and the supplied power is calculated. Although the power is small, the ionic polymers are able to discharge energy across a load proving that they are capable of supplying power. / Master of Science

An electropolymerizable zinc porphyrin carrying eight entities of peripheral bithiophene, 4 was newly designed and synthesized. In this design, the bithiophene entities were separated by a biphenyl spacer to minimize ground state interactions perturbing porphyrin π-electronic structure. By multi-cyclic voltammetry, thin-films of 4 were formed on transparent FTO electrode and were characterized by optical, electrochemical and STM measurements. Further, the ability of zinc porphyrin in 4 to axially coordinate phenyl imidazole functionalized fullerene, C60Im both in solution and on the film interface was performed and characterized. Fluorescence quenching of zinc porphyrin both in solution and in the film was observed upon binding of C60Im. Femtosecond transient absorption studies revealed excited state charge separation for the dyad in solution wherein the measured rate of charge separation, kCS and charge recombination, kCR were found to be 2 x 1010 s−1 and 1.2 x 109 s−1, respectively. In contrast, transient absorption studies performed on the dyad in the film were suggestive of energy transfer with minimal contributions from electron transfer. The present study brings out the importance of modulating photochemical reactivity of donor-acceptor dyad in film as compared to that in solution. The electro- and photocatalytic reduction of molecular nitrogen to ammonia (nitrogen reduction reaction, NRR) is of broad interest as an environmentally- and energy-friendly alternative to the Haber–Bosch process for agricultural and emerging energy applications. Herein, we review our recent findings from collaborative electrochemistry/surface science/theoretical studies regarding transition metal oxides, oxynitrides and sulfides as NRR catalysts. We found that, for all metal oxides and oxynitrides specifically, there is no Mars–van Krevelen mechanism and that the reduction of lattice nitrogen and N2 to NH3 occurs by parallel reaction mechanisms at O-ligated metal sites without incorporation of N into the oxide lattice. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of both O-ligation and the importance of N in stabilizing the transition metal cation in an intermediate oxidation state, for effective N≡N bond activation. For transition metal sulfides, various exfoliation treatments are known to yield Sulfur vacancies and DFT calculations corroborate N2 binding to S-vacancies, with substantial π-backbonding to activate dinitrogen. Most of our NRR catalysts were selective to ammonia production without appreciable competing production of H2.

A conversão de vibração em energia elétrica tem sido investigada por diversos grupos de pesquisa na última década. A principal motivação é a prospecção de fontes alternativas de energia elétrica para sistemas eletroeletrônicos remotamente operados e com fontes limitadas de energia. Diferentes mecanismos de transdução são investigados na literatura para a coleta de energia, entretanto, o piezelétrico tem se destacado devido à densidade de energia que proporciona e também facilidade de uso. Uma alternativa promissora que começa a ser estudada por alguns grupos de pesquisas é a conversão de energia de oscilações aeroelásticas em energia elétrica. Apesar da natureza destrutiva da maioria dos fenômenos aeroelásticos, eles apresentam um grande potencial para o estudo de novos mecanismos e sistemas para coleta de energia. A conversão piezelétrica de energia a partir de oscilações aeroelásticas lineares tem sido investigada. Entretanto, a geração piezoaeroelástica de energia pode se tornar mais atrativa e prática se realizada a partir sistemas aeroelásticos não lineares. A conversão se daria a partir de oscilações persistentes e com amplitude limitada (oscilações em ciclo limite &#8211; LCO) ocorrendo em um amplo intervalo de velocidades de escoamento. Define-se o objetivo deste projeto como a investigação numérica da conversão piezelétrica de energia a partir de oscilações aeroelásticas não lineares. Um modelo por elementos finitos para placa plana com piezocerâmicas é desenvolvido, respeitando-se as hipóteses de uma placa de von Kàrmàn. O carregamento aerodinâmico não estacionário é determinado a partir do método de malha de dipolos e uma aproximação do domínio do tempo obtida a partir da formulação apresentada por Roger. Os resultados eletroaeroelásticos são apresentados para asas com diferentes razões de aspecto investigadas em uma ampla faixa de velocidades e considerando-se diversos valores de resistores no domínio elétrico. / The converting of vibration into usable electrical energy has been investigated by several researches groups in the last decade. The main motivation is the possibility of obtaining alternatives electrical energy sources to power electronic system remotely operated and with limited energy sources. Different transduction mechanism has been presented in the energy harvesting literature. However the piezoelectric has been gained more attention because not only of its power density but also its ease of use. A promissory alternative that is becoming studied is the converting of aeroelastic oscillation into electrical energy. Despite of the destructive nature of unstable aeroelastic phenomena (such as, flutter), they present a great potential to the study of innovative mechanism to harvest energy. Although the piezoelectric energy conversion using linear aeroelastic has been investigated in the literature, the use of non linear aeroelastic system can be more practical and attractive. The non linear aeorelastic harvesting occurs by persistent oscillation and with limited amplitudes (Limited Cycle Oscillation &#8211; LCO) and can be performed by considerable velocity interval greater than the linear flutter speed. The objective of this work is to investigate the energy harvesting by non linear aeroelastic oscillation. A finite element model of a thin plate (with piezoceramics) is developed), using the non linear hypothesis of von Karman. The unstable aerodynamic loading is obtained by a doublet-lattice method (DLM) and with its time domain conversion using the Roger approximation. The eletroaeroelastic results are presented for several wings with different aspect ratios, and with different resistance values in the electrical domain. The eletroaeroelastic results of the generator wing are investigated for several airspeed greater than its linear flutter speed.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:11:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissert Final Marcel Araujo.pdf: 10392408 bytes, checksum: 3344b21a2f98d64347dd0aea895a4444 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-01 / The use of piezoelectric devices to harvest vibration energy has found applications in several areas, especially in structural health monitoring, either to recharge batteries or to directly feed sensors and also electronic devices. In general, the practical use of the energy converted by these devices requires, first, converting the alternating current (AC) produced to direct current (DC). This is normally done by using rectifier circuits. However, modeling the harvesting system, usually a PZT sensor bonded on a cantilever micro-beam and coupled to a rectifier circuit, using the same software package is pointed out by some authors as a drawback to overcome, due to its multidisciplinary requirements, involving topics of both mechanical and electrical engineering. In this sense, the main goal of this dissertation is to describe a comprehensive and simple modeling strategy, which considers a single computational platform and, simultaneously, account for both the electromechanical model of a clamped piezoelectric beam and the practical energy harvesting circuit, seeking ways to facilitate the analysis and design of energy harvesting systems. Numerical simulations and experimental tests are performed to illustrate the proposed approach, considering a full-wave diode bridge as the non-controlled rectifier circuit and a resistive load, which are directly connected to the cantilevered piezoelectric beam. Additionally, experimental tests carried out with a commercial harvesting system are presented, aiming to characterize and compare its performance with a full-wave diode bridge and a resistive circuit, both developed by the author. A single degree of freedom model of this system is also presented. The results showed that the model is suitable to perform simulations of systemshaving the characteristics described in this dissertation and confirmed the need of using active circuits to better use the produced energy. / A utilização de dispositivos piezelétricos para reaproveitamento de energia vibratória tem en- contrado aplicações em várias áreas, sobretudo em monitoramento de integridade estrutural, seja para recarregar baterias ou alimentar diretamente sensores e outros dispositivos eletrôni- cos. Em geral, o uso prático da energia convertida por estes transdutores requer, primeiramente, a transformação da corrente alternada (CA) produzida em corrente contínua (CC). Isto é fre- quentemente obtido por meio da utilização de circuitos retificadores. Entretanto, utilizar o mesmo pacote de software para modelar sistemas de energy harvesting, geralmente compostos por um sensor piezelétrico acoplado em uma microviga e conectados a um circuito retificador, é apontado por alguns autores como um grande desafio a ser superado, pois necessita de requisi- tos multidisciplinares que incluem tópicos de engenharia elétrica e mecânica. Neste sentido, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma estratégia de modelagem simples, que utilize apenas uma plataforma computacional e considere, simultaneamente, os modelos de uma viga piezelétrica e um circuito prático de extração/armazenamento de energia, buscando meios de facilitar a análise e o projeto de sistemas de energy harvesting. Simulações numéricas e testes experimentais são realizados para ilustrar a abordagem proposta, considerando um circuito retificador de onda completa e uma carga resistiva conectados diretamente a uma viga piezelétrica sob condição engastada-livre. Além disso, são apresentados testes experimentais realizados com um sistema comercial de energy harvesting visando caracterizar e comparar seu desempenho frente aos circuitos retificadores de onda completa e resistivo, ambos confeccionados pelo autor. Um modelo de um grau de liberdade deste sistema também é apresentado. Os resultados mostraram que o modelo é adequado para realizar simulações de sistemas que possuam as características descritas neste trabalho e comprovaram a necessidade de se utilizar um circuito ativo para se ter um melhor reaproveitamento da energia gerada.

A conversão de vibração em energia elétrica tem sido investigada por diversos grupos de pesquisa na última década. A principal motivação é a prospecção de fontes alternativas de energia elétrica para sistemas eletroeletrônicos remotamente operados e com fontes limitadas de energia. Diferentes mecanismos de transdução são investigados na literatura para a coleta de energia, entretanto, o piezelétrico tem se destacado devido à densidade de energia que proporciona e também facilidade de uso. Uma alternativa promissora que começa a ser estudada por alguns grupos de pesquisas é a conversão de energia de oscilações aeroelásticas em energia elétrica. Apesar da natureza destrutiva da maioria dos fenômenos aeroelásticos, eles apresentam um grande potencial para o estudo de novos mecanismos e sistemas para coleta de energia. A conversão piezelétrica de energia a partir de oscilações aeroelásticas lineares tem sido investigada. Entretanto, a geração piezoaeroelástica de energia pode se tornar mais atrativa e prática se realizada a partir sistemas aeroelásticos não lineares. A conversão se daria a partir de oscilações persistentes e com amplitude limitada (oscilações em ciclo limite &#8211; LCO) ocorrendo em um amplo intervalo de velocidades de escoamento. Define-se o objetivo deste projeto como a investigação numérica da conversão piezelétrica de energia a partir de oscilações aeroelásticas não lineares. Um modelo por elementos finitos para placa plana com piezocerâmicas é desenvolvido, respeitando-se as hipóteses de uma placa de von Kàrmàn. O carregamento aerodinâmico não estacionário é determinado a partir do método de malha de dipolos e uma aproximação do domínio do tempo obtida a partir da formulação apresentada por Roger. Os resultados eletroaeroelásticos são apresentados para asas com diferentes razões de aspecto investigadas em uma ampla faixa de velocidades e considerando-se diversos valores de resistores no domínio elétrico. / The converting of vibration into usable electrical energy has been investigated by several researches groups in the last decade. The main motivation is the possibility of obtaining alternatives electrical energy sources to power electronic system remotely operated and with limited energy sources. Different transduction mechanism has been presented in the energy harvesting literature. However the piezoelectric has been gained more attention because not only of its power density but also its ease of use. A promissory alternative that is becoming studied is the converting of aeroelastic oscillation into electrical energy. Despite of the destructive nature of unstable aeroelastic phenomena (such as, flutter), they present a great potential to the study of innovative mechanism to harvest energy. Although the piezoelectric energy conversion using linear aeroelastic has been investigated in the literature, the use of non linear aeroelastic system can be more practical and attractive. The non linear aeorelastic harvesting occurs by persistent oscillation and with limited amplitudes (Limited Cycle Oscillation &#8211; LCO) and can be performed by considerable velocity interval greater than the linear flutter speed. The objective of this work is to investigate the energy harvesting by non linear aeroelastic oscillation. A finite element model of a thin plate (with piezoceramics) is developed), using the non linear hypothesis of von Karman. The unstable aerodynamic loading is obtained by a doublet-lattice method (DLM) and with its time domain conversion using the Roger approximation. The eletroaeroelastic results are presented for several wings with different aspect ratios, and with different resistance values in the electrical domain. The eletroaeroelastic results of the generator wing are investigated for several airspeed greater than its linear flutter speed.