Fluidic Energy Harvesters: A case of Aero-Electro-Mechanical Interaction

这项拟议的工作将首次探索独特结构的风能收集装置的性能，使用位于流场中的最佳位置的压电材料。流动流体中的可用功率与其速度的立方体成正比，在湍流的情况下，它与特征长度尺度的立方体成正比，与特征应变率/频率尺度的立方体成比例。这一特点创造了一个独特的机会，通过使用压电发电机产生大量的能量，这是交流耦合设备，将流体动能转换为电能。这种能量可以用来为非常小的电子设备持续供电，也可以进行整流和储存，以供间歇使用。这需要对空气运动、振动结构的动力学和压电材料的电场之间的三向耦合相互作用有基本的了解。流场的详细映射将提供关于能量收集最大或最佳的流场的信息。这项提议产生的工作将为设计可用于为小型电子设备供电的发电机提供基础。尽管预期的能源收获量很小，但在多个点连续收获可能会更有成效。在拟议研究结束时，将有可能实施这一战略，届时将更好地理解与将现有成果扩大到实际规模有关的问题。目前的研究计划和新颖的实验设置已经吸引了许多本科生和研究生以及普通公众的兴趣。该实验装置还将被用作为对科学和工程感兴趣的高中生提供暑期充实计划的一部分。此外，从事这一研究项目的学生将获得宝贵的空气动力学、结构和电子耦合方面的培训和技能，这对风车和水轮机等能源技术的进步至关重要。教育部分主要侧重于少数族裔学生。这项研究将受益于许多已经在运作的校园项目，以加强科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的成员的参与，包括为有兴趣攻读博士学位的本科生设立的CUNY管道项目。建议通过与拟议研究有关的探究性学习项目，增加少数民族学生在本科和高中阶段的参与。将尝试使用基于网络的方法传播结果。

The proposed work will explore the performance of unique configurations of harvesting wind energy devices for the first time with the use of piezoelectric materials optimally located inside a flow field. The available power in a flowing fluid is proportional to the cube of its velocity, which in the case of turbulent flows is proportional to the cube of a characteristic length scale and to the cube of a characteristic strain rate/frequency scale. This feature creates a unique opportunity to generate a substantial amount of energy by using piezoelectric generators, which are AC-coupled devices, to convert fluid kinetic energy to electrical energy. This energy can be used for continuously powering very small electronic devices or can be rectified and stored for intermittent use. This requires fundamental understanding of the three-way coupled interaction between the air motions, the dynamics of the vibrating structure and the electrical field of the piezoelectric material. Detail mapping of the flow fields will provide information on the flow field where energy harvesting is at maximum or optimal. The work that emerges from this proposal will provide the basis for designing generators that can be used to power small scale electronic devices. Although the anticipated energy harvesting is small, continuous harvesting at multi points may be more productive. Implementing such a strategy would be possible at the end of the proposed research when issues related to scaling up the available results to real-life scale, will be better understood. The present research program and the novel experimental setup have already attracted the interests of a number of undergraduate and graduate students and the general public. The experimental setup will also be used as part of a summer enrichment program for high school students interested in science and engineering. Furthermore, the students working on this research project will obtain valuable training and skills in coupled aerodynamics, structures and electronics, which is critical for the advancement of energy technologies such as windmills and water turbines. The educational component is primarily focused on minority students. The research will benefit from the presence of many on-campus programs already in operation to enhance the participation of members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering, including the CUNY Pipeline Program for undergraduates interested in pursuing a Ph.D. degree. It is proposed to increase the participation of minority students at the undergraduate and high school levels through inquiry-based learning projects related to the proposed research. Dissemination of the results will be attempted using a web-based approach.