Title :
A Circuit Prototype for Dielectric Polymer Energy Harvesting System
Author :
Ge, Feng ; Wang, Wei ; Gupte, Naval H. ; Choi, Ken ; Kang, Gyungsoo ; Kim, Soohyun
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Illinois Inst. of Technol., Chicago, IL, USA
Abstract :
Recent development of Dielectric Electro Active Polymer (DEAP) for energy harvesting has gained a lot of attention for research. At the current time most investigations focus on the mechanical-to- electric energy conversion. In this paper we discussed the overall energy conversion circuit. Theoretical analysis shows the energy conversion efficiency largely depends on the circuit topology. While the previously suggested circuit may not actually have net energy gain; we proposed a new circuitry for DEAP energy harvesting. Simulation results shows that the system can have net energy gain without using external voltage bias source. The experimental testing shows that the proposed circuit can supply 32 nJ per second energy from a 5 Hz mechanical force.
Keywords :
electroactive polymer actuators; energy harvesting; circuit prototype; circuit topology; dielectric electro active polymer; dielectric polymer energy harvesting system; Capacitance; Capacitors; Energy harvesting; Integrated circuit modeling; Polymers; Voltage measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Green Technologies Conference (IEEE-Green), 2011 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Baton Rouge, LA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-713-9
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-61284-714-6
DOI :
10.1109/GREEN.2011.5754873