No description available.

The proposed vibration energy harvesting IC harvests energy from a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) to provide power for a wireless sensor node (WSN). With a traditional rectification stage, a two-path three-switch dual-input dual-output architecture is adopted to extract power and regulate the output voltage for the load with one stage. The power stage is controlled with a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm, which integrates both fraction open circuit voltage (FOCV) and perturb and observe (PandO). The proposed algorithm was able to extract maximum power from a transducer due to high accuracy on the maxim power point (MPP) and low power dissipation. The proposed circuit is implemented in TSMC 180 nm BCD technology and the post-layout simulation verifies the functionality of the proposed design. The simulation results show that the circuit operates under the maximum power point to extract maximum power from a PZT. / Master of Science / The battery life has always been problematic ever since electronic devices exist. As semiconductor technology advances, more transistors could fit in the same area. Resultantly, portable, and mobile devices become more powerful but usually dissipate more power. Unfortunately, the development of the batteries has not been improved significantly. So, it is necessary to charge portable and mobile devices often or replace batteries frequently. In some applications where a device is hard to reach once installed, charging or replacing the battery is difficult. Under these circumstances, energy harvesting from ambient sources is an effective alternative. There are many types of sources of energy widely available in the environment such as vibration, thermal, solar, RF and etc. Solar energy harvesting is the most popular owing to high power density. However, sunlight is unavailable during night time. Vibration energy, although the power density is lower compared with solar, is a viable solution when solar is not a good source of energy. The proposed work utilizes abundant vibration energy at factories to power wireless sensor nodes (WSNs), which can monitor the temperature, light intensity, pressure, etc.

No description available.

The contact between the tire and the road is the key enabler of vehicle acceleration, deceleration and steering. However, under the circumstances of sudden changes to the road conditions, the driver`s ability to maintain control of the vehicle maybe at risk. In many cases, this requires intervention from the chassis control systems onboard the vehicle. Although these systems perform well in a variety of situations, their performance can be improved if a real-time estimate of the tire-road contact parameters (ranging from kinematic conditions of the tire to its dynamic properties) are available. At the present stage of development, tire-road contact parameters are indirectly estimated using observers based on vehicle dynamics measurements (acceleration, yaw and roll rates, suspension deflections, etc). Although these methods present a relatively accurate solution, they rely heavily on tire and vehicle kinematic formulations and break down in case of abrupt changes in the measured quantities. To address this problem, researchers have been developing certain sensor based advanced tire concepts for direct measurement of the tire-road contact parameters. Thus the new terms "Intelligent Tire" and "Smart Tire", which mean online tire monitoring are thus enjoying increasing popularity among automotive manufacturers and formed the motivation for this thesis to explore the possibility of developing an intelligent tire system. The development of the so called "intelligent tire/ smart tire system" is expected to spur the development of a new generation of vehicle control system with modified control strategies, leveraging information directly coming from the interface between the tire and the road, and in turn significantly reducing the risk of accidents. The specific contributions of this thesis include the following: • Development of an intelligent tire system, with a special attention to development of measurement and sensor feature extraction methodologies of acceleration signals coming from sensors fixed to the tire innerliner • Design of an integrated vehicle state estimator for application to global chassis control • Development of a model-based tire-road friction estimation algorithm • Development of an intelligent tire based adaptive wheel slip controller for anti-lock brake system (ABS) • Development of a piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting system with an adaptive frequency tuning mechanism for intelligent tires / Master of Science

La mise en œuvre de réseaux de capteurs communicants dans des installations industrielles, dans les transports ou le bâtiment apparaît comme un axe de développement qui permettrait d'augmenter les performances globales de ces systèmes.Par une supervision et une exploitation adaptées des informations collectées (température, niveau vibratoire, humidité, etc.), la fiabilité et les performances énergétiques pourraient être optimisées.La diminution régulière de la consommation des nouvelles générations de capteurs sans fil engendre un fort intérêt scientifique pour l'alimentation de ceux-ci de manière autonome. Ainsi, une thématique de recherche spécifique est apparue il y a une dizaine d'années : la réalisation de micro-sources d'énergie pour l'alimentation de capteurs communicants.Ces travaux de recherche proposent l'exploration des performances d'une structure de micro-générateur originale pour la récupération de l'énergie des vibrations : l'"Hybrid Fluid Diaphragm" (HFD).Le concept de l'HFD consiste à encapsuler un fluide incompressible entre deux membranes.Le fluide se comporte comme une masse inertielle qui induit une fréquence de résonance compatible avec les vibrations ambiantes dont les fréquences sont généralement inférieures à quelques centaines de Hertz.Ces membranes en P(VDF-TrFE), un polymère piézoélectrique, ont été réalisées spécifiquement pour assurer la conversion optimale des sollicitations mécaniques (flexion/tension) en énergie électrique.Une modélisation multiphysique qui intègre les comportements fluidiques, mécaniques et électriques, la réalisation et la caractérisation de deux générateurs HFD sont détaillées.Le premier prototype met en œuvre des membranes piézoélectriques monomorphes (monocouche) tandis que le deuxième exploite des membranes piézoélectriques bimorphes (double couche) optimisées.Les puissances générées apparaissent suffisantes pour envisager l'alimentation de capteurs et leurs géométries permettent d'imaginer des scénarios potentiels d'intégration dans des applications réalistes. / The implementation of wireless sensor nodes in industrial installations, transport or building is a potential route to increase the performances of these systems.By a proper supervision and exploitation of the collected information (temperature, vibratory level, humidity, etc.) the reliability and the energy performances can be increased. With the regular reduction of the power requirements for new generations of wireless sensors nodes, a strong scientific interest to develop autonomous power supply has raised.In this framework, a specific research topic appeared about ten years ago: ambient energy harvesting.The present work investigates the performances of an original micro-generator architecture for vibration energy harvesting: the “Hybrid Fluid Diaphragm” (HFD).The concept of HFD consists in encapsulating an incompressible fluid between two flexible membranes. The fluid behaves as an inertial mass which leads to a resonant frequency suitable for ambient vibrations whose spectrum is usually lower than a few hundred Hertz.These membranes are made of P(VDF-TrFE), a piezoelectric polymer, and are designed to ensure the optimal conversion of the mechanical solicitations (flexion/stretch) into electrical energy.A multiphysic modeling which integrates the fluid, the mechanical and the electric coupled behaviors is proposed.The realization and the characterization of two HFD's generators are detailed.A first prototype implements single layer piezoelectric membranes, whereas a second one uses optimized double layer membranes.The generated power appears to be sufficient to consider the power supply of wireless sensor nodes operating in intermittent transmitting mode. The very simple geometry of the proposed generators is favorable to their integration in realistic applications.

Afin d’accomplir les promesses des récupérateurs d’énergie vibratoire (VEHs) qui s’imposent comme unealternative majeure pour garantir l’autonomie des capteurs pour la surveillance, leurs performances en termes debande passante et puissance récupérable doivent être améliorées. Dans cette thèse, à la différence des VEHs classiqueslinéaires et multimodales ou non-linéaires et mono-fréquence, on propose une approche de récupérationd’énergie basée sur des réseaux d’aimants couplés en lévitation ou élastiquement guidés combinant les avantagesdes non-linéarités et des interactions modales. Une étude bibliographique sur les récupérateurs d’énergie vibratoireest effectuée. En particulier, les inconvénients des récupérateurs linéaires et les techniques de réglage de fréquencesont présentées. De plus, les méthodes non-linéaires sont présentées pour définir une procédure de résolution permettantl’étude de la dynamique des récupérateurs non-linéaires. Les équations du mouvement qui contiennentla non-linéarité magnétique, la non-linéarité géométrique et l’amortissement électromagnétique sont résolus enutilisant la méthode de la balance harmonique couplée avec la méthode asymptotique numérique. Une méthodologied’optimisation multi-objectif basée sur l’algorithme Non Sorting Genetic Algorithm est appliquée afin decalculer les solutions optimales pour maximiser les performances du récupérateur d’énergie. Grâce au couplagenon-linéaire et aux interactions modales, pour le cas des trois aimants couplés, l’approche proposée permet la récupérationde l’énergie vibratoire dans la gamme fréquentielle 4;6 - 14;5 Hz, avec une bande passante d’environ190 % et une puissance normalisée de 20,2 mWcm-3g-2. / In order to accomplish the promises of vibration energy harvesters (VEHs) as a major alternative to powersensors, their performances in terms of frequency bandwidth and harvested power have to be improved. In thisthesis, unlike classical VEHs either linear and multimodal or nonlinear and mono-frequency, we propose a vibrationenergy harvesting approach based on arrays of coupled levitated or elastically guided magnets combining thebenefits of nonlinearities and modal interactions.A review of VEHs is carried out. Particularly, the design issues of linear harvesters are addressed and frequencytuning techniques are presented. A review of nonlinear methods is also presented in order to define a solving procedureenabling the investigation of the dynamics of nonlinear VEHs. The equations of motion which include themagnetic nonlinearity, the geometric nonlinearity and the electromagnetic damping are solved using the harmonicbalance method coupled with the asymptotic numerical method. A multi-objective optimization procedure isintroduced and performed using a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm for the cases of small magnet arraysin order to select the optimal solutions in term of performances by bringing the eigenmodes close to each other interms of frequencies and amplitudes. Thanks to the nonlinear coupling and the modal interactions even for onlythree coupled magnets, the proposed method enable harvesting the vibration energy in the operating frequencyrange of 4.6–14.5 Hz, with a bandwidth of 190 % and a normalized power of 20:2mWcm-3g-2.

This thesis is dealing with creation of computation model of energy harvestors. Harvestors based on translational motion and planar motion were modeled. These models were created in MSC Adams. Proposed harvestors are tranforming mechanical vibrations into electrical energy by electromagnetical induction. To achieve better electrical output, harvestors were tuned to natural frequency suitable for chosen aplication. First proposed harvestor is meant for railway track. For validation of its usability in intended application, model of railway track section is also proposed. Force generated by passing train is used for excitation of the track model. Second harvestor is nonlinear electromechanical oscilator proposed for use on unanchored sea buoy (drifter). After retuning previously proposed concept of energy harvestor to natural frequency 1.6 Hz, computation model for simulation purposes was created. After the simulation of sinusoidal excitation, the excitation based on real sea data was simulated. When excited by regular sea, the peak electric power 9 W was achieved. When excited by irregular sea the peak electrical power of the generator was 7.5 mW.

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.

Les récupérateurs d'énergie vibratoire électrostatiques (REV) sont des systèmes convertissant une partie de l'énergie cinétique de leur environnement en énergie électrique, afin d'alimenter de petits systèmes électroniques. Les REV inertiels sont constituées d'un sous-système mécanique bâti autour d'une masse mobile, ainsi que d'une interface électrique. Ces deux blocs sont couplés par un transducteur électrostatique. Cette thèse étudie l'amélioration des performances des REV par la conception optimisée de leur interface électrique. La première partie de cette thèse étudie une famille d'interfaces électriques appelées pompes de charge (PC). On commence par la construction d'une théorie formelle des PC. Des interfaces rapportées dans la littérature sont identifiées comme membres de cette famille. Cette dernière est ensuite complétée par une nouvelle topologie de PC. Une comparaison des différents PC est alors faite dans le domaine électrique, puis un outil semi-analytique est présenté pour la comparaison des PC en prenant en compte le couplage électromécanique. L'étude des PC se termine par la présentation d'une nouvelle méthode de mesure du potentiel d'électret des REV. La deuxième partie de la thèse présente une approche de conception radicalement différente de ce qui est présenté dans les travaux actuels sur les REV. Elle préconise une synthèse active de la dynamique de la masse des REV à travers leur interface électrique. Nous montrons d'abord que cela permet la conversion d'énergie en quantités proches des limites physiques, et ce à partir de vibrations d'entrée de forme arbitraire. Enfin, une architecture pour un tel REV est proposée et testée en simulation. / Electrostatic vibration energy harvesters (e-VEHs) are systems that convert part of their surroundings' kinetic energy into electrical energy, in order to supply small-scale electronic systems. Inertial E-VEHs are comprised of a mechanical subsystem that revolves around a mobile mass, and of an electrical interface. The mechanical and electrical parts are coupled by an electrostatic transducer. This thesis is focused on improving the performances of e-VEHs by the design of their electrical interface. The first part of this thesis consists in the study of a family of electrical interfaces called charge-pumps conditioning circuits (CPCC). It starts by building a formal theory of CPCCs. State-of-the-art reported conditioning circuits are shown to belong to this family. This family is then completed by a new CPCC topology. An electrical domain comparison of different CPCCs is then reported. Next, a semi-analytical tool allowing for the comparison of CPCC-based e-VEHs accounting for electromechanical effects is reported. The first part of the thesis ends by presenting a novel method for the measurement of e-VEHs' built-in electret potential. The second part of the thesis presents a radically different design approach than what is followed in most of state-of-the-art works on e-VEHs. It advocates for e-VEHs that actively synthesize the dynamics of their mobile mass through their electrical interface. We first show that this enables to convert energy in amounts approaching the physical limits, and from arbitrary types of input vibrations. Then, a complete architecture such an e-VEH is proposed and tested in simulations submitted to human body vibrations.