Campus Units
Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE)
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Conference
SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
3-22-2021
Journal or Book Title
Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2021
Volume
11591
First Page
115911D
Research Focus Area
Environmental/Water Resources Engineering
DOI
10.1117/12.2583354
Conference Title
SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation
Conference Date
March 22-26, 2021
Abstract
Interest in blue energy harvesting systems is rapidly growing and becoming widespread given its promise as a renewable and clean energy source. Blue energy harvesting from raindrop impact would allow low-power systems to operate in remote areas without the need for battery replacement and related maintenance. Insufficient power output is the most critical limitation that makes the conventional types of rain energy harvester (REH) typically unusable or/and infeasible. To overcome this limitation, a bio-inspired metasurface skin is proposed in this paper to serve as the membrane for a piezoelectric type of REHs. The proposed metasurface membrane is comprised of a system of biaxial-cuts inspired by snake scale. The power enhancement of the bio-inspired harvester with a metamembrane was studied and compared to its equivalent conventional harvester with a plain membrane when the substrate was under raindrop pressure. The Finite Element Model (FEM) results showed that the metamembrane could transfer more stress deformation to the piezo-element layer, thus enhancing power output. This is attributable to the metasurface membrane polarizing the PVDF better than a conventional plain membrane because of its higher ability to stretch the PVDF. The proposed bio-inspired harvester could be used for different public facilities such as tents, umbrellas, awnings, temporary roofs, coverings, and tarps to provide power for sensing, lighting, signage, digital displays, etc., especially in heavy-rain regions.
Copyright Owner
SPIE
Copyright Date
2021
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Farhangdoust, Saman; Georgeson, Gary; Ihn, Jeong-Beom; and Laflamme, Simon, "Bio-inspired metasurface skin to enhance the performance of blue energy harvesting" (2021). Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Conference Presentations and Proceedings. 119.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ccee_conf/119
Included in
Biology and Biomimetic Materials Commons, Civil Engineering Commons, Power and Energy Commons
Comments
This proceeding is published as Farhangdoust, Saman, Gary Georgeson, Jeong-Beom Ihn, Sadegh Mehdi Aghaei, and Simon Laflamme. "Bio-inspired metasurface skin to enhance the performance of blue energy harvesting." In Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2021, vol. 11591 (2021): 115911D. DOI: 10.1117/12.2583354. Posted with permission.