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UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

Senior High School

The Supplementary Integration of Piezoelectricity in Solenoid Inductor as Power Harvester


ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

In this day and age surrounded with technology and innovation, electricity has

become an important part of people’s daily life, from running appliances at home to running

machineries in the industry. Globally, electricity consumption is rising rapidly as new major

economies develop in places such as China and India. Thus, electricity generation is one of

the essential factors in supporting 21st century society and economy. Based on the statistical

data of Internal Energy Agency (2018), the world’s total electricity consumption totaled

20,863 TWh in 2016, which is 3.2% higher than 2015. Much of this electricity is generated

from combustible fuels accounting for 67.3% of total world gross electricity production

(Internal Energy Agency, 2018). Combustible fuels include coal, oil, natural gas, biofuels

including solid biomass and animal products, gas/liquids from biomass, industrial waste and

municipal waste.
This way of electricity generation through fossil fuel power plants, burns the fuels to

generate steam that drives large turbines that produce electricity reliably over long periods of

time, hence, the huge percentage of electricity production. However, by doing so they produce

large amounts carbon dioxide, which causes climate change and other pollutants, such as

sulphurous oxides, which cause acid rain (World Nuclear Association, 2013).

To mitigate the dangerous effects of combustible fuels, other forms of electricity

generation also exist, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear and geothermal electricity

generation. These alternatives are designed to produce considerable amounts of electricity using

renewable energy and without causing any negative effects.

Moreover, scientists still continue to find more ways to produce electricity, be it small or

large scale electricity generation. Also called as micro energy harvesting, small scale electricity

generation focuses on mechanical vibration, mechanical stress and strain, thermal energy from

sun light, human body, chemical or biological sources, which can generate mW or μW level

power (Yildiz, 2009). Correspondingly, the need for micro power supply is increasing with time

as today’s technology is moving to the micro and nano production levels. An example of a micro

energy harvesting device is the application of inductors which induces a voltage through the use

of magnets, and the interaction of electric and magnetic fields. Another is through

piezoelectricity which produces electrical energy by applying pressure to the system.

In like manner, the researchers chose to conduct this experiment to construct an

additional method on producing electricity and storing it into a power storage. The developed

system makes use of both the concept of Faraday’s Law of Induction and piezoelectricity to

produce electric energy. By incorporating it into a portable power bank, hand-held device users

are able to recharge their electronic devices, such as cell phones, mp3 players and tablets, via a
USB cable. In essence, the goal of this project is to design an environmental and user friendly

portable rechargeable battery capable of recharging electronic devices, serving as a substitute for

AC power plugs.

B. Statement of the Problem

The study aims to produce an alternative electric generator capable of recharging a power

bank, providing battery power for various hand-held devices. Specifically, the study seeks to

answer the following questions:

1. How much voltage is produced by the system

a. Without piezoelectricity?

b. With piezoelectricity?

2. How long does the system take to charge the power storage to a particular

percentage?

3. What are other efficient ways of powering the system aside from shaking it by hand?

C. Significance of the Study

D. Scope and Limitations

E. Review of Related Literatures

In this study, the researchers combined the concept of piezoelectricity and

electromagnetic induction via inductors to produce the electricity needed to recharge the power

storage. The application of piezoelectric as a power generator can be extended to operate daily

low power electrical appliances such as tuner, light bulb, mobile phone and so on. A

piezoelectricity power generator or harvester can convert impact energy from various mechanical

vibrations of daily life into electrical energy. It is an environmentally friendly power generating

system and it was said that piezoelectric energy harvesting is a new and innovative step in the
direction of energy harvesting (Kumar,2015). However, the technology of currently available

piezoelectric materials and methods is unable to produce a sufficient amount of energy because

of their poor source characteristics – high voltage, low current, high impedance – and relatively

low power output (Glynne-Jones, Beeby, & White, 2001). In detail, Piezoelectricity or the

piezoelectric effect, is the capability of crystals to transform mechanical energy into electrical

energy, and vice versa (Howells, 2009). This gives piezoelectric materials a wide range of

potential applications from sensors used in acoustic-electric guitars to actuators used in inkjet

printers.

On applying of force over the piezoelectric material, it slightly deforms and disturbs the

lattice structure of the material resulting in the generation of electric potential. The electrical

charge is accumulated over the crystal surface that can be extracted using wires (Gohite &

Gohite, 2014).

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Piezoelectricity also comes in two types: direct piezoelectric effect and converse

piezoelectric effect. The direct piezoelectric effect is related to generating electric energy when

mechanical stress is applied while the converse piezoelectric effect is related to the deformation

of the material when an electric field is applied (Lam, 2019). The system in this study uses the

direct piezoelectric effect.


a) Direct piezoelectric effect; mechanical energy is converted to form electrical

energy, (b) Converse piezoelectric effect; electrical energy causes deformation in the

shape of piezoelectric material.

Previous works have been published that provide sources of vibration for piezoelectric

energy harvesting. This includes the power generating sidewalk by a company, Pavegen

Systems, wherein piezoelectric arrays are laid underneath pavements, sidewalks and other high

traffic areas for maximum voltage generation (Grose, 2012).The voltage generated from the

system can be used to charge the chargeable Lithium batteries and capacitors.
Another practical application of piezoelectric sensors is the power generating shoes. In a

project initiated by United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA),

wherein they attempted to power battlefield equipment by embedding piezoelectric sensors n

soldiers’ boots (Sharma & Singh, 2012).

Schematic of heel strike generator

The other component used in this research is an inductor from Faraday’s law of

electromagnetic induction. This method uses a magnetic field to convert mechanical energy to

electrical energy. A coil of wire wrapped around to the oscillating mass is made to passthrough a
magnetic field, which is established by a stationary magnet, to produce electric energy. The coil

travels through a varying amount of magnetic flux, inducing a voltage according to Faraday's law

(Sari, Balkan, & Kulah, 2009). In some applications of inductors, the system is set up the other

way around. Also used in this study, the magnet would be the object oscillating inside the coil of

wire, thus, still producing a varying amount of magnetic flux.

Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction

Electromagnetic inductors are also classified according to structure or design; most

common of which are toroidal and solenoid inductors. A toroidal inductor, or toroid, is a donut-

shaped coil closely wound with one continuous wire while a solenoid inductor, or solenoid, a

coil wound into a tightly packed helix (Urone, 2018). In this study, the researchers employed the

solenoid-type inductor coiled with copper wire.


One simple application that utilizes solenoid inductor is the ‘shake flashlight’, or a

‘faraday flashlight’ that coverts mechanical energy of human muscles into electrical energy. A

study stated that the output voltage of a shake flashlight range from 1 to 5 V (Gieras,

Piechowski, & Kucharski , 2017).


In the same light, Gasper and Omsberg (2016) attempted to produce a rechargeable

battery system using an inductor by integrating it to a bicycle’s rim however failed to obtain

desired results as the rim’s spokes are magneztized. Despite that, Gasper and Omsberg (2016)

evaluated an inductor that oscillates at a frequency of 1.5 Hz resulting in a voltage output of

3.6V.

Methodology

A. Materials or Equipment

The first thing to consider for the design of the product is the correct type of material for the

input of the whole device. The device consists of three main input points, from the magnet,

the piezoelectric pads, and from the power storage.

For the first input area, the chosen magnet for the device is a neodymium magnet since the

intensity of the magnetic field is considered as one of the factors that affects the output of

electromotive force or EMF (Openstax College, 2014). As mentioned, Faraday’s law of

induction states that if a magnetic field is applied to a coil of wire, an EMF will be produced

across the coil. The coil chosen would be a made out of copper wire since copper allows

electric current to flow without much loss of energy. Given the law of Faraday, the surface

area of the coil is directly proportional to the EMF generated. Therefore the area allotted for

the coil to be wrapped would be filled up to ensure maximum efficiency in terms of the coils’

surface area.

For the second input area, the piezoelectric circuit, a standard piezoelectric sensor made up of

quartz would be used. Quartz is made up of silicon and oxygen which has opposite charges,

once the quartz crystal receives force, the symmetry of positive and negative charges still
remains which then generates electrical energy as the crystal bounces back. Since the energy

released highly depends on the retraction of the crystal, the current produced is limited as an

AC. Since AC is produced, a full wave bridge rectifier is needed for it to be converted into

DC (Takeuchi, Matsuzawa, Tairaku, & Takatsu, 2007).

Lastly, the third input is simply the power storage device to be used, when the device is not

in need to be used the power storage can simply be charged by a regular wall charger.

B. Treatment

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