Piezoelectric and electrostatic bimetal-based thermal energy harvesters

This paper reports on innovative thermal energy harvesters (TEH) turning heat fluxes into electricity in a two-step conversion, involving (i) a curved bimetallic strip converting thermal gradients into mechanical oscillations, which are then (ii) converted into electricity by a piezoelectric or an e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. Conference series 2013-12, Vol.476 (1), p.12062
Main Authors: Arnaud, A, Boisseau, S, Monfray, S, Puscasu, O, Despesse, G, Boughaleb, J, Sanchez, Y, Battegay, F, Fourel, M, Audran, S, Boeuf, F, Delamare, J, Delepierre, G, Pitone, G, Skotnicki, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bimetals
Electric power
Electricity
Energy harvesting
Engineering Sciences
Heat flux
Physics
Piezoelectricity
Temperature gradients
Thermal energy
Transducers
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Summary:This paper reports on innovative thermal energy harvesters (TEH) turning heat fluxes into electricity in a two-step conversion, involving (i) a curved bimetallic strip converting thermal gradients into mechanical oscillations, which are then (ii) converted into electricity by a piezoelectric or an electret-based electrostatic transducer. This work mainly focuses on (i) the optimizations of the piezoelectric devices, (ii) a first demonstration of a Wireless Sensor Node powered by our electrostatic transducers, validating the viability of bimetal-based thermal energy harvesters, and (iii) the possibility of future scaled scavengers by a micrometric silicon approach to improve efficiencies and power densities.
ISSN:1742-6588
1742-6596
DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/476/1/012062