SBIR Phase I: Production Optimization of Piezoelectric Fibers to Power Smart Garments

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将重点开发压电能量收集纤维，为智能服装中的传感器和其他低功耗电子设备自主供电。这项技术将允许制造具有无缝集成的能量收集系统的服装，而不是今天的刚性电子产品，使智能服装能够实现与普通服装相同的透气性，合身性和舒适性。智能服装市场预计在未来几年将继续以每年近20%的速度增长，到2018年将达到20亿美元。虽然围绕用于测量运动员的各种生理状况的智能服装的开发已经有了大量的宣传，但该技术的更广泛影响包括用于监测士兵、紧急响应者和患者的应用，其中传感器功率的损失（例如，用于身体功能监测或环境感测）可能是可怕的。虽然本项目将侧重于一个特定的纤维化学，预期的学习，将导致在纤维加工和集成到织物结构方面也将适用于其他纤维技术。本项目的智力价值是与理解的行为纤维基压电体，因为它们被加工成纱线和织物。从历史上看，陶瓷和聚合物压电材料以刚性或柔性薄膜形式使用，这不适合开发基于纺织品的可穿戴技术。这项工作的重点是一类新型压电聚合物纤维，即聚（γ-苄基-α，L-谷氨酸盐）（ePBLG），它可以在单个静电纺丝过程中生产，并且不需要物理或化学后处理来产生其压电活性。这项工作的三个主要目标是：了解聚合物和工艺条件对纤维介电性能的影响，评估和优化ePBLG纱线的机械和介电性能，并评估各种正交电极的电输出，这将适用于编织织物结构。通过这项工作，我们将确定将ePBLG材料转化为无缝集成到智能服装中所需的结构时对功率输出的影响。有了这些知识，压电电源可以在特定的智能服装设计中为系统平衡适当地调整大小。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the development of a piezoelectric energy harvesting fiber to autonomously power sensors and other low-power electronics in smart garments. This technology will allow the fabrication of garments with seamlessly integrated energy harvesting systems, as opposed to today's rigid electronics, to enable smart garments to move toward the same breathability, fit and comfort as normal clothing. The smart garments market is forecast to continue growing at nearly 20% per year over the next several years, reaching $2 billion by 2018. While there has been significant publicity around the development of smart garments for measuring various physiological conditions of athletes, the broader impact of this technology includes applications for monitoring soldiers, emergency responders and patients where the loss of sensor power (e.g. for body function monitoring or environmental sensing) could be dire. While this project will focus on one particular fiber chemistry, the expected learning that will result in terms of fiber processing and integration into fabric structures will also be applicable to other fiber technologies.The intellectual merit of this project is associated with understanding the behavior of fiber-based piezoelectrics as they are processed into yarns and fabrics. Historically, ceramic and polymer piezoelectric materials are used in rigid or flexible film forms, which are not suitable for the development of wearable textile-based technologies. This effort focuses on a new class of piezoelectric polymer fiber, poly(gamma-benzyl-alpha,L-glutamate) (ePBLG), than can be produced in a single electrospinning process and without the need for physical or chemical post-processing to yield its piezo-activity. The three primary goals of the work will be: understanding the effect of polymer and process conditions on fiber dielectric properties, assessing and optimizing the mechanical and dielectric properties of ePBLG yarns, and evaluating the electrical output of a variety of orthogonal electrodes, as would be appropriate for woven fabric constructions. Through this work we will determine the effects on power output when transforming the ePBLG material into structures required for seamless incorporation into smart garments. With this knowledge, the piezoelectric power supply can be properly sized for the balance-of-system within a specific smart garment design.