Harvesting raindrop energy: experimental study

Guigon, R.; Chaillout, Jean-Jacques; Jager, T.; Despesse, Ghislain

doi:10.1088/0964-1726/17/01/015039

Cited by 141 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The total energy of an incoming water drop before impact consists of kinetic and surface energies, which are given by KE 1 …”

Section: On-centre Impact Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An understanding of this mechanism has broad applications. Piezoelectric devices to harvest the kinetic energy of rain have been designed [1], and may benefit from a mechanistic understanding of splash-cup design. Ink-jet printing and industrial painting processes [2], which involve the high-speed deposition of drops onto a variety of small surface features, may also benefit from the insights of this study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Splash-cup plants accelerate raindrops to disperse seeds

Amador

Yamada

McCurley

et al. 2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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The conical flowers of splash-cup plants Chrysosplenium and Mazus catch raindrops opportunistically, exploiting the subsequent splash to disperse their seeds. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we elucidate their mechanism for maximizing dispersal distance. We fabricate conical plant mimics using three-dimensional printing, and use high-speed video to visualize splash profiles and seed travel distance. Drop impacts that strike the cup off-centre achieve the largest dispersal distances of up to 1 m. Such distances are achieved because splash speeds are three to five times faster than incoming drop speeds, and so faster than the traditionally studied splashes occurring upon horizontal surfaces. This anomalous splash speed is because of the superposition of two components of momentum, one associated with a component of the drop's motion parallel to the splash-cup surface, and the other associated with film spreading induced by impact with the splashcup. Our model incorporating these effects predicts the observed dispersal distance within 6-18% error. According to our experiments, the optimal cone angle for the splash-cup is 408, a value consistent with the average of five species of splash-cup plants. This optimal angle arises from the competing effects of velocity amplification and projectile launching angle.

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“…The total energy of an incoming water drop before impact consists of kinetic and surface energies, which are given by KE 1 …”

Section: On-centre Impact Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Splash-cup plants accelerate raindrops to disperse seeds

Amador

Yamada

McCurley

et al. 2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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show abstract

“…This fame among the general public is undoubtedly due to its deeply attractive aesthetic, but drop impact also has a large field of applications. Inkjet printing [4], microfabrication of three-dimensional objects [5], underwater noise of rain [6], raindrop energy harvesters [7], forensic bloodstain pattern analysis [8], impact cratering [9], and the earthy smell, known as petrichor, present after a rain shower on a hot day [10] are a few among them. The diversity of these examples explains why drop impact has been studied by many authors [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Jet dynamics post drop impact on a deep pool

2017

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We investigate experimentally the jet formed by the collapse of a cavity created by the impact of a drop on a pool of the same aqueous liquid. We show that jets can emerge with very different shapes and velocities, depending on the impact parameters, thus generating droplets with various initial sizes and velocities. After presenting the jet velocity and top drop radius variation as a function of the impact parameters, we discuss the influence of the liquid parameters on the jet velocity. This allows us to define two different regimes: the singular jet and the cavity jet regimes, where the mechanisms leading to the cavity retraction and subsequent jet dynamics are drastically different. In particular, we demonstrate that in the first regime, a singular capillary wave collapse sparks the whole jet dynamics, making the jet's fast, thin, liquid parameters dependent and barely reproducible. On the contrary, in the cavity jet regime, defined for higher impact Froude numbers, the jets are fat and slow. We show that jet velocity is simply proportional to the capillary velocity √ γ /ρ l D d , where γ is the liquid surface tension, ρ l the liquid density, and D d the impacting drop diameter, and it is in particular independent of viscosity, impact velocity, and gravity, even though the cavity is larger than the capillary length. Finally, we demonstrate that capillary wave collapse and cavity retraction are correlated in the singular regime and decorrelated in the cavity jet regime.

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“…Assuming the absence of stochastic variables such the effect of wind, a spherical model can be adopted for a relatively small (≤2 mm in diameter) falling raindrop [29,30]. This assumption derives from the surface tension of water, which holds the raindrop together against air drag.…”

Section: Physics Of Raindropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few rare existing literature on harvesting rainfall energy has opted for piezoelectric material as the primary transducer [29,30,34]. Piezoelectric material yields an electrical charge polarisation when mechanical strain is induced, and vice versa.…”

Section: Harvesting the Kinetic Energy Of Rainfallmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Decentralised Energy for Remote Communities: Case Studies and the Analysis of the Potential Integration of Rain Energy

Miao¹,

Jia²

2014

J. sustain. dev. energy water environ. syst.

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For remote underdeveloped and sparsely populated regions, the use of national power grids to provide electricity can be both unsustainable and impractical. In recent years, decentralised renewable power has gained popularity, endowing social benefits to the local inhabitants through clean rural electrification. However, power reliability and system autonomy are often the primary technical concerns as current systems are largely single source reliant. Hybrid power systems that utilise multiple complementary renewables can help to reduce the dependency on conventional unclean options. A few selected case studies for both single source and hybrid power systems are reviewed, analysing critical success factors and evaluating existing difficulties. The additional integration of the novel rain-powered kinetic-to-electric generator technology to the existing hybrid model is analysed. As with development in general, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to bringing power to remote communities and the most sustainable solution should be found through analysing local resources, environmental conditions and maximising local involvement.

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Harvesting raindrop energy: experimental study

Cited by 141 publications

References 15 publications

Splash-cup plants accelerate raindrops to disperse seeds

Splash-cup plants accelerate raindrops to disperse seeds

Jet dynamics post drop impact on a deep pool

Hybrid Decentralised Energy for Remote Communities: Case Studies and the Analysis of the Potential Integration of Rain Energy

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