An electret‐based thermoacoustic‐electrostatic power generator

Abstract

Summary This study reports a new concept for power generation from thermal energy, which integrates a thermoacoustic engine (TAE) with a contact‐free electret‐based electrostatic transducer. The TAE converts thermal energy into high‐intensity acoustic energy, while the electret‐based electrostatic transducer converts the generated acoustic energy into electricity. The experiments demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the proposed electret‐based thermoacoustic‐electrostatic power generator (TAEPG). The dynamic response of the electrostatic transducer and energy conversion inside the TAE are further investigated using a lumped element model and a frequency‐domain reduced‐order network model. Good agreement is achieved between experimental measurements and theoretical predictions. Furthermore, a parametric study is performed to study the effect of key parameters including the external heating power, air gap, and resistive load on the performance of the TAEPG. Results show that an open‐circuit voltage amplitude of 4.7 V is produced at a closed‐end pressure amplitude of 480 Pa in the experiment, and it is estimated that 25.2% of the acoustic power generated by the TAE has been extracted by the electret‐based electrostatic transducer. In this case, the maximum electric power output is measured to be 2.91 μW at a resistive load of around 2.2 MΩ. By increasing the external heating power, the TAEPG can produce a maximum voltage amplitude of 8 V. This work shows that the proposed concept has great potential for developing miniature heat‐driven power generators.

An experimental study of a two‐degree‐of‐freedom galloping energy harvester

“…[22][23][24][25] To subsequently convert vibration energy into electricity, there are several energy transduction methods including [Correction added on 15 October 2020, after first online publication: the corresponding address of Junlei Wang has been corrected in this version of the article.] electromagnetic, [26][27][28][29] electrostatic 30,31 and piezoelectric effects. [32][33][34][35][36] Because of the advantage of high-power density, using piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting has attracted numerous research interests.…”

“…The development of wind energy harvesters requires to convert wind energy into structural vibration energy first using various flow-induced vibration mechanisms, [12][13][14][15] such as galloping, [16][17][18] wake galloping, 19,20 flutter 21 and vortex-induced vibration. [22][23][24][25] To subsequently convert vibration energy into electricity, there are several energy transduction methods including electromagnetic, [26][27][28][29] electrostatic 30,31 and piezoelectric effects. [32][33][34][35][36] Because of the advantage of high-power density, using piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting has attracted numerous research interests.…”

Underlying physics of limit-cycle, beating and quasi-periodic oscillations in thermoacoustic devices

“…Steady-state limit-cycle oscillations are frequently encountered and investigated extensively in the literature. For example, Figure 9 displays one such pattern observed in our recent experimental study [4].…”

“…W at the fundamental mode has been investigated extensively in the literature (e.g., Figure (4) in Ref. [4]) and therefore not reproduced herein. Our calculations show that W at higher modes has similar shapes.…”

High‐Performance Flexible Schottky DC Generator via Metal/Conducting Polymer Sliding Contacts

“…[ 1,2 ] As Internet of Things (IoTs) has come of age, [ 3–5 ] power sources are expected to be more miniaturized, sustainable, and self‐adaptive, bringing new challenges to ambient energy harvesting technologies. [ 6,7 ] In this context, mechanical energy harvesting technologies such as triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), [ 3,8,9 ] piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG), [ 9,10 ] electrostatic generator, [ 11–13 ] and dynamic direct‐current (DC) generator [ 14–16 ] have been developed to deliver electricity from environmental (wind, water, vibration) and human motional (movement, heartbeat, etc.) energy sources.…”