A credit card sized self powered smart sensor node

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis paper reports a self powered smart sensor node (also called 'smart tag') consisting of a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester, a power conditioning circuit, sensors and an RF transmitter. The smart tag has dimensions similar to a credit card and can be easily integrated into various applications such as the surface of the aircraft. The smart tag is powered by an integrated bimorph piezoelectric generator that extracts energy from ambient vibrations. The generator is fabricated using thick film printing technology. Experimentally, the generator produced a maximum RMS output power of 240 W when excited at vibration with a frequency of 67 Hz and peak amplitude of 0.4 g (3.9 m s −2 ). This generated power is sufficient to enable periodic sensing and transmission. Details of the experimental results of the piezoelectric generator and the power conditioning circuit are presented. Test shows that the waiting time of the system between two consecutive transmissions is around 800 s.

Vibration Energy Harvesting: Machinery Vibration, Human Movement and Flow Induced Vibration

“…Commonly used materials for piezoelectric energy harvesting are BaTiO 3 , PZT-5A, PZT-5H, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (Anton & Sodano, 2007). In theory, with the same dimensions, piezoelectric energy harvesters using PZT-5A has the most amount of output power (Zhu & Beeby, 2011).…”

Aircraft Strain WSN Powered by Heat Storage Harvesting

“…While piezoelectric device implementations with higher power exist and have been proposed for aircraft SNs (e.g. 240 µW/cm 3 at 67 Hz, 0.4 g [27]), resonant operation requirements have prevented their use. Solutions such nonlinear piezoelectric and hybrid piezoelectric/inductive devices, as well as new piezoelectric materials have been studied for aircraft SNs using simulation [28].…”

Vibration Energy Harvesting Potential for Turbomachinery Applications

“…Piezoelectric generators can provide high voltage; however, the output current is low due to very high impedance, which has a negative impact not only on their efficiency but also on their operation with other electronics [2]. One of the most productive materials used for piezoelectric harvesters is PZT-5A [2], [3], but there is a constant interest towards more efficient materials. Although the power density provided is lower in smaller devices, the constraints of smaller dimensions limit the movement and lead to a slightly larger preference towards larger generators.…”