SBIR Phase I: Electricity From Biomimetic Grass

SBIR 第一阶段：仿生草发电

• 批准号: 1013963
• 负责人: Michael McCloskey
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Creodyne, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1013963&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Electricity; Biomimetic; Grass

This SBIR Phase I project will develop the feasibility of using piezoelectric transducers to create an artificial plant, embodied as tall bunchgrass, that will harvest and store energy from wind. This device will have aesthetic appeal and provide a nonpolluting supplement to energy produced by wind turbines and combustion of fossil fuels. Rugged plastic leaves containing piezoelectric Kynar inserts will generate pulses of electricity when flexed by wind. Electrical currents will be full-wave rectified by diode bridges at the base of each leaf and routed in parallel to a smart battery charger.The broader/commercial impact of the project will be to produce energy from wind without the environmental concerns related to wind turbines. Currently, wind energy harvesting is accomplished with wind turbines that drive large electromagnetic generators. Turbines are mounted atop high towers often in rural districts in order to avoid turbulent airflow typical of populated areas, and also to meet threshold wind speed requirements. As wind-farms have spread, environmental concerns have been raised about their effects on wildlife, local wind patterns, and the health of nearby residents. This project will develop a new and transformational technology that exploits engineering solutions evolved by plants over the years that they have been interacting with wind.

SBIR第一阶段项目将开发使用压电换能器创建人造植物的可行性，具体表现为高束草，将从风能中收获和储存能量。 该装置将具有美学吸引力，并为风力涡轮机和化石燃料燃烧产生的能量提供无污染的补充。 坚固的塑料叶片含有压电Kynar插入物，当被风弯曲时会产生电脉冲。 电流将通过每个叶片底部的二极管桥进行全波整流，并并联到智能电池充电器。该项目的更广泛/商业影响将是从风力发电，而不会产生与风力涡轮机相关的环境问题。 目前，风能收集是通过驱动大型电磁发电机的风力涡轮机来实现的。 涡轮机通常安装在农村地区的高塔上，以避免人口稠密地区典型的湍流气流，并满足临界风速要求。 随着风力发电场的推广，人们对风力发电场对野生动物、当地风的模式和附近居民健康的影响提出了环境问题。 该项目将开发一种新的变革性技术，利用多年来与风相互作用的植物进化出的工程解决方案。