O uso de biomateriais para acelerar reparos de fraturas ósseas tem aumentado nos últimos anos. Neste estudo, as propriedades piezelétricas do fluoreto de polivinilideno foram utilizadas com a finalidade de mimetizar os potenciais bioelétricos associados à deformação óssea, que são diminuídos quando ocorre fratura óssea. Estudos histomorfométricos foram efetuados para verificar a influência do polímero. Testes de biocompatibilidade e de esterilização permitiram avaliar os riscos da utilização do polímero como material de implante. O polímero piezelétrico associado à placa de osteossíntese resultou em uma maior quantidade de matriz óssea mineralizada na lesão quando comparado ao implante da placa sem o polímero. / The use of biomaterials to promote accelerated bone fracture repair has been improved in the recent years. In the present study, the piezoelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) were used with the aim of mimetizing bioelectrical potentials associated to bone strain which decrease when a bone fracture occurs. Histomorphometric studies were accomplished to verify the influence of the polymer. Biocompatibility and sterilization tests assessed any risk related to the use of a polymer as an implantable material. The piezoelectric polymer associated to an osteosynthesis plate resulted in a larger amount of mineralized bone matrix in the lesion when compared to a plate implanted without the polymer.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation presents the development of a system for converting the mechanical energy from vibrations into electrical energy. The conversion is performed in a low-cost piezoelectric transducer, commonly known as buzzer. The main purpose of this system is to charge, or to extend the time between charges, of chargeable batteries up to 2V. In order to control the charging process, an integrated energy processor was also designed. Processor design is presented from its specification, followed by circuit topology definition, electric simulation, layout, extraction of circuit from layout and a final simulation including layout effects. The main contribution of the investigation is to show how much energy could be obtained from vibrations with a low-cost transducer, comparing its performance to full custom generators. The final system implementation is very simple, composed by a generator (a buzzer with a steel ball glued onto its center) and an integrated circuit that controls the charge delivered to the battery, sensing the voltage across its terminals. An efficiency of 55% is expected, being comparable to results published by other researchers. / Esta dissertação apresenta o desenvolvimento de um sistema para converter energia mecânica de vibrações em energia elétrica. A conversão é realizada através de um transdutor de baixo custo comumente chamado de buzzer. O principal objetivo deste sistema é carregar ou estender o tempo entre cargas de baterias recarregáveis de até 2 V. Para o controle do processo de carga, um processador de energia integrado também foi desenvolvido. O projeto do processador de energia é apresentado segundo especificações como definição de topologia, simulação elétrica, layout, extração elétrica do circuito através do layout e a simulação final incluindo os efeitos do layout. A principal contribuição desta dissertação é mostrar como muita energia poderia ser obtida de vibrações com um transdutor de baixo custo, comparando sua performance a outros microgeradores. O sistema final implementado é muito simples, composto por um microgerador (buzzer com uma esfera de aço colada no centro) e um circuito integrado que controla a carga da bateria, através da monitoração da tensão da mesma. Uma eficiência de 55% é esperada, sendo comparável com os resultados obtidos por outros pesquisadores.

O uso de biomateriais para acelerar reparos de fraturas ósseas tem aumentado nos últimos anos. Neste estudo, as propriedades piezelétricas do fluoreto de polivinilideno foram utilizadas com a finalidade de mimetizar os potenciais bioelétricos associados à deformação óssea, que são diminuídos quando ocorre fratura óssea. Estudos histomorfométricos foram efetuados para verificar a influência do polímero. Testes de biocompatibilidade e de esterilização permitiram avaliar os riscos da utilização do polímero como material de implante. O polímero piezelétrico associado à placa de osteossíntese resultou em uma maior quantidade de matriz óssea mineralizada na lesão quando comparado ao implante da placa sem o polímero. / The use of biomaterials to promote accelerated bone fracture repair has been improved in the recent years. In the present study, the piezoelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) were used with the aim of mimetizing bioelectrical potentials associated to bone strain which decrease when a bone fracture occurs. Histomorphometric studies were accomplished to verify the influence of the polymer. Biocompatibility and sterilization tests assessed any risk related to the use of a polymer as an implantable material. The piezoelectric polymer associated to an osteosynthesis plate resulted in a larger amount of mineralized bone matrix in the lesion when compared to a plate implanted without the polymer.

Piezoelectricity crystal is used in different area in industry, such as downhole oil, gas industry, and ballistics. The piezoelectricity crystals are able to create electric fields due to mechanical deformation called the direct piezoelectric effect, or create mechanical deformation due to the effect of electric field called the indirect piezoelectric effect. In this thesis, piezoelectricity effect is the core part. There are 4 parts in the frequency output pressure transducer: two crystal oscillators, phase-locked loop (PLL), mixer, frequency counter. Crystal oscillator is used to activate the piezoelectricity crystal which is made from quartz. The resonance frequency of the piezoelectricity crystal will be increased with the higher pressure applied. The signal of the resonance frequency will be transmitted to the PLL. The function of the PLL is detect the frequency change in the input signal and makes the output of the PLL has the same frequency and same phase with the input signal. The output of the PLL will be transmitted to a Mixer. The mixer has two inputs and one output. One input signal is from the pressure crystal oscillator and another one is from the reference crystal oscillator. The frequency difference of the two signal will transmitted to the frequency counter from the output of the mixer. Thus, the frequency output pressure transducer with a frequency counter is a portable device which is able to measure the pressure without oscilloscope or computer.

Mechanical vibrations in large structures such as buildings, bridges, dams and critical frequencies in large machinery generally have low frequencies (100Hz-1000Hz). To monitor large areas of such structures we need huge network of low cost, easily manufacturable, self-powered and stand-alone vibration spectrum sensors. The sensors should also consume very little power during their overall operation cycle and have moderately high frequency resoultion. The thesis provides mathematical analysis, design and development of stand-alone, low frequency vibration spectrum analyzer .A mechanically stretched polymer piezoelectric membrane, which has a fixed length and tension, can act as a single frequency detector due to its unique resonant frequency. Stretching multiple ribbons of diffferent lengths and tensions, a vibration spectrum analyzer, which gives the Fourier frequency components present in an arbitrary mechanical input vibration, can be designed. The thesis presents a detailed description of experiments to evaluate a low frequency vibration spectrum analyzer system that accepts an incoming input vibration and directly provides the spectrum as output. Polymer piezoelectric materials being easily manufacturable these sensors can be deployed in wide area sensor networks that monitor large structures. The thesis also shows design of a vibration energy harvesting system based on the concept of harvesting energy at low frequencies. The need for developing such an energy harvesting system arises from the necessity of making the vibration sensor, self-powered. Multiple experimental tests were performed before developing a prototype vibration energy harvesting circuit.

<p>  </p> <p>Polymer films possess many advantageous properties, such as mechanical flexibility, toughness, impact resistance, optical transparency, light weight, and low cost, but their behavior related to temperature stability and thermal conductivity and lack of select functionalities render them unsuitable for key applications. In the context of smart materials, piezoelectric ceramics and single crystals provide unmatched electromechanical couplings, mechanical strength, and chemical inertness, at the expense of being brittle, opaque, and high cost. A synergistic combination of properties can be achieved by combining both materials in an anisotropically structured ceramic/polymer composite (with quasi-1–3 connectivity) by the application of external electric field (E-field). In a process called dielectrophoresis, the particles align into through-thickness columns comprising a nanocolumn forest. As a result, the complementary properties greatly enhance the resulting performance, promising to revolutionize the class of smart materials with high-performance applications in actuators, sensors, and transducers. These particle-filled composites also allow for great design flexibility regarding the type of functionalization and the connectivity of each phase. Following the materials-science paradigm comprising the sequence of processing, structure, and properties, the work on these piezoelectric composite materials is broadly organized into materials selection, processing, and applications.</p> <p>In the first study, the kinetics of particle-chain alignment are modeled as a linear step-growth polymerization and the rheokinetics are modeled with the dual-Arrhenius chemoviscosity model. Employing the direct piezoelectric effect, a characterization of the vibration response of the composites complements an evaluation of their suitability as vibration sensor for motor fault detection. Second, for impact sensing, the efficacy of the piezoelectric composite films is evaluated with respect to a novel conceptual sensing system for automotive applications, such as vehicle-to-pedestrian collision detection. Third, applying the indirect piezoelectric effect for sound production as an electroacoustic loudspeaker, the piezoelectric composite films represent a novel approach to flat-panel loudspeakers that are tunable in modulus, with opportunities for mechanical flexibility, optical transparency, and large-area coverage.</p>