Direct strain energy harvesting in automobile tires using piezoelectric PZT–polymer composites

Abstract

Direct piezoelectric strain energy harvesting can be used to power wireless autonomous sensors in environments where low frequency, high strains are present, such as in automobile tires during operation. However, these high strains place stringent demands on the materials with respect to mechanical failure or depolarization, especially at elevated temperatures. In this work, three kinds of ceramic-polymer composite piezoelectric materials were evaluated and compared against state-of-the-art piezoelectric materials. The new composites are unstructured and structured composites containing granular lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles or PZT fibers in a polyurethane matrix. The composites were used to build energy harvesting patches which were attached to a tire and tested under simulated rolling conditions. The energy density of the piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composite materials is initially not as high as that of the reference materials (a macro-fiber composite and a polyvinylidene fluoride polymer). However, the area normalized power output of the composites after temperature and strain cycling is comparable to that of the reference devices because the piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites did not degrade during operation.

Dielectrophoretically structured piezoelectric composites with high aspect ratio piezoelectric particles inclusions

“…The average orientation angle calculated using CT cross sections wash ¼ 73. 6 6 0.7 (8 cross sections). The average angle for optical microscopy cross sections was h ¼ 74.…”

“…6 It has been shown recently that the alignment of PZT equiaxed granulate particles in an epoxy resin results in an improvement of the piezoelectric properties over 0-3 composites with randomly dispersed particles. The improvement is especially apparent at low PZT volume fractions.…”

Strain Energy Harvesting Powered Wireless Sensor System Using Adaptive and Energy-Aware Interface for Enhanced Performance

“…Piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) are particularly attractive to vibration energy harvesting because of their simple structures, self-contained power generation capabilities and high energy densities [5]. PEHs using flexible piezoelectric materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) [6] and macro fiber composite (MFC) [7] are particularly suitable as a strain energy harvester (SEH) because they can be bonded onto host structures of different shapes [7], [8], where the strain experienced by the host structures due to impact or vibration can be directly transferred to and converted by the SEH into electrical energy at off-resonant. The power that can be harvested is proportional to the vibration frequency and has a quadratic relationship with the experienced strain level [9].…”

“…Most of the work focused on the characterization of the SEH itself [6], [7] or together with a simple interface [8], [10] without connecting to a wireless sensor system (WSS) for a whole system study. An integrated whole system study of the energy harvester, system interface, and WSS under an intended operational condition is essential for research on energy harvesting powered WSS since a high performance of one subsystem does not guarantee a successful operation of the whole system.…”

Enhanced Piezoelectric Behavior of PVDF Nanocomposite by AC Dielectrophoresis Alignment of ZnO Nanowires

“…Lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which is a typical piezoelectric material, is widely used in the aviation [1,2], automobile [3,4], and precision machinery [5] industries due to its excellent performance capabilities. However, while there have been various studies of lead-free piezoelectric materials, leadbased materials have adverse effects on the environment and on human health [6].…”