PFI-TT: Vibration Energy Harvesting to Meet Power Demands for the Electric Grid and Remote Sensing

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的广泛影响/商业潜力可以帮助社会走向清洁能源和更可靠的系统的未来。该项目的重点是开发一种更有效的方法，在更宽的频率范围内从各种来源提取能量。这些设备将对美国海岸线的海浪能量收集器产生巨大影响，海浪能量收集器是潜在绿色能源的重要来源。传统的基于波浪的能量收集方法的运行条件较窄，而在该项目中开发的能量收集器由于能力更广，将具有以更低的成本生产更高能量的能力。这个PFI-TT项目还可以在不容易安装电池或电力线的情况下为远程传感器供电，例如用于桥梁等民用基础设施。社会效益是更多的能源可获得性，更低的能源成本，同时减少对化石燃料的依赖。在商业上，降低海浪能量收集器的成本可能会对能源行业产生颠覆性影响。拟议的项目旨在开发一种频率可调的能量收集器，与更传统的解决方案相比，它可以在更宽的频率范围内以谐振方式运行。谐振运行可以实现更多的能量收集，这有利于传感和发电应用。拟议的项目将首先使用固定的桌面试验台对计算模型进行实验验证。在这一验证期间，将开发一个基本的、未优化的原型，用于自供电传感器的传感应用和在海浪中收集能量。该项目将为每个应用程序独立优化原型。传感应用的成果将是能够为远程传感器供电的可扩展收割机，而发电机收割机的成果是适合美国沿海地区特定条件的波能转换器设计。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project can help society move toward a future of clean energy and more reliable systems. The focus of this project is to develop a more efficient method of extracting energy from a variety of sources at wider range of frequencies. These devices will have a large impact on ocean wave energy harvesters along the US coastline, a substantial source of potential green energy. Traditional approaches to wave-based energy harvesting have narrower operating conditions, while the energy harvesters developed in this project will have capability to produce higher energy with lower costs due to broader capabilities. This PFI-TT project also lends itself to powering remote sensors in situations where batteries or powerlines are not easily installed, such as for civil infrastructure like bridges. The societal benefit is more energy availability, cheaper energy costs, all while decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels. Commercially, lowering the cost of ocean wave energy harvesters can be a disruptive force in the energy sector. The proposed project aims to develop a frequency-tunable energy harvester that can operate at resonance over a wider frequency range compared to more conventional solutions. Operating at resonance enables more energy harvesting, which benefits sensing and power generation applications. The proposed project will first experimentally validate the computational model using a stationary table-top rig. During this validation, a basic, unoptimized prototype will be developed for sensing applications for self-powered sensors and the harvesting of energy in ocean waves. This project will optimize the prototype independently for each application. The outcome for the sensing application will be a scalable harvester capable of powering remote sensors, while the outcome of the power generator harvester is a wave energy converter design suited for specific US coastal region conditions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.