Dung-An Wang
Graduate Institute of Precision Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
Huy-Tuan Pham
Graduate Institute of Precision Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
Chia-Wei Chao
Graduate Institute of Precision Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
Jerry M. Chen
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/ecp110571456Published in: World Renewable Energy Congress - Sweden; 8-13 May; 2011; Linköping; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 57:11, p. 1456-1463
Published: 2011-11-03
ISBN: 978-91-7393-070-3
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
We have developed a new energy harvester for harnessing energy from the Kármán vortex street behind a bluff body in a water flow. It converts flow energy into electrical energy through oscillation of a piezoelectric film. Oscillation of the piezoelectric film is induced by pressure fluctuation in the Kármán vortex street. Prototypes of the energy harvester are fabricated and tested. Experimental results show that an open circuit output voltage of 0.12 Vpp and an instantaneous output power of 0.7 nW are generated when the pressure oscillates with an amplitude of ~0.3 kPa and a frequency of ~52 Hz. This approach has the potential of converting hydraulic energy into electricity for powering wireless devices. The low output power of the device can be improved by an optimization design procedure or by adopting a piezoelectric material with higher piezoelectric constants. An array of these devices with multiple resonant frequencies may be considered for energy harvesting from ambient flow sources.
