Experimental Investigation on the Power Generation Performance of Dielectric Elastomer Wave Power Generator Mounted on a Square Type Floating Body

A novel concept of a surge wave energy converter for nearshore applications is investigated experimentally. The centimetre-sized prototype developed in this work represents a proof of concept of a submerged system, which entails a hybrid transduction solution for the electrical conversion of wave energy, that uses piezoelectric elements (PZEs) and dielectric elastomer generators (DEG). The idea is to exploit the horizontal pressure gradient and horizontal water velocity underneath the waves to compress the PZE and inflate each half wave period a soft variable capacitance, which composes the DEG. The electrical charges created by the PZE are used to polarize the DEG, which is able to multiply the input energy. This hybridization is conceived to allow the system to generate electrical energy from waves without conventional high voltage supplies, thus reducing production costs and allowing standalone clean electrical generation. The article provides the preliminary fluid-mechanical measurements performed in a wave flume with a first version of the prototype and supported by a model comprising the fluid/structure interaction, the materials response, and the electrical operations. An estimation of the output energy of a small-sized prototype in constant charge mode is computed, and perspectives for optimizing the system are presented.

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Perspective Chapter: Improvement of Elastomer Elongation and Output for Dielectric Elastomers

Chiba¹,

Waki²,

Zhu³

et al. 2023

Elasticity of Materials

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The need for light, high-strength, and artificial muscles is growing rapidly. A well-known type of artificial muscle meeting these requirements is the dielectric elastic (DE) type, which uses electrostatic force between electrodes. In hopes of utilizing, it practically for a variety of purposes, research and development is rapidly progressing all over the world as a technology for practical use. Much of the market demand is dominated by more output-focused applications such as DE power suits, DE motors, DE muscles for robots, and larger DE power systems. To meet these demands, the elasticity of the elastomer is very important. In this paper, we discussed what the important factors are for SS curves, viscoelasticity tests, etc. of the dielectric elastomer materials. Recent attempts have been also made to use new carbon foam materials such as SWCNTs and MWCNTs as electrodes for DEs. These electrodes bring the elastomers to a higher level of performance.

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Experimental Investigation on the Power Generation Performance of Dielectric Elastomer Wave Power Generator Mounted on a Square Type Floating Body

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

Dielectric Elastomers

Dielectric Elastomers

Experimental investigations of a new concept of wave energy converter hybridizing piezoelectric and dielectric elastomer generators

Perspective Chapter: Improvement of Elastomer Elongation and Output for Dielectric Elastomers

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