Transducing Thermal and Optical Energies to Motion and Electricity with Coherent-Domain Ferroelastic Materials

加州大学伯克利分校吴军桥教授的《利用相干域铁弹性材料将热能和光能转换为运动和电能》的研究目标和方法该计划的目的是展示一种具有卓越性能的变革性技术，将热能和光能转换为机械运动和电能。通过课程和研究开发，还将为本科生和社区大学学生建立培训计划。方法是利用VO2基单晶微梁的铁弹相变产生的大自发应变。这种梁与无源夹持梁或压电层机械耦合，形成复合梁，在可调的温度范围内弯曲，在该温度范围内，活性材料经历相变。智能优点拟议的研究旨在利用将多种功能与相干域结构相结合的创新材料系统来改变传统的热-光-机械-电能转换技术。从略高于室温的来源产生的低品位废热极其丰富。在这种温度条件下(100摄氏度)，热电等传统技术变得效率太低而不实用。拟议的创新方法能够将低品位的废热转化为机械运动和电力，其效率可能比传统技术高得多。更广泛的影响在全球能源图上，80%以上的电力是通过热过程产生的，而产生的总能量中有50%以上是以热的形式损失的。这项拟议的研究将以前所未有的高性能和低成本实现新型的微尺度热驱动和余热回收技术，从而造福社会。拟议中的项目将通过在伯克利发展“能源材料”培训计划来扩大其影响。

Abstract"Transducing Thermal and Optical Energies to Motion and Electricity with Coherent-Domain Ferroelastic Materials" by Junqiao Wu, University of California-BerkeleyResearch Objectives and ApproachesThe objective of this program is to demonstrate a transformative technology with superior performance to transduce thermal and optical energies to mechanical motion and electricity. A training program will also be built for undergraduate and community college students through curriculum and research developments.The approach is to exploit the large spontaneous strain arising from the ferroelastic phase transition of VO2-based single-crystal microbeams. This beam is mechanically coupled with a passive clamping beam or a piezoelectric layer, forming a composite beam that bends in a tunable temperature range over which the active material undergoes the phase transition. Intellectual MeritThe proposed research seeks to transform conventional thermal-optical-mechanical-electrical energy transducing technologies using innovative material systems coupling multiple functionalities with coherent domain structures. Low-grade waste heat from sources slightly above room temperature is extremely abundant. In this temperature regime (100 Celsius), conventional technologies such as thermoelectrics become too inefficient to be practical. The proposed innovative approach is able to convert low-grade waste heat into mechanical motion and electricity at efficiencies potentially much higher than conventional technologies. Broader ImpactsOn the global energy diagram, more than 80% of the power is generated through thermal processes, and more than 50% of the total energy produced is lost as heat. The proposed research benefits society by enabling novel, microscale thermal actuation and waste heat recovery technologies at unprecedentedly high performance and low cost. The proposed project will broaden its impact by developing a "Materials for Energy" training program at Berkeley.