Thermo-mechanical efficiency of the bimetallic strip heat engine at the macro-scale and micro-scale

Arnaud, Arthur; Boughaleb, Jihane; Monfray, S.; Bœuf, F.; Cugat, Orphée; Skotnicki, T.

doi:10.1088/0960-1317/25/10/104003

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In fact, when many layers were placed on the bimetal, its global thickness increased affecting the ratio between the bimetal’s thickness and its curvature. In [ 23 , 24 ], the author gives criterions for bimetals’ bi-stability, corresponding to a certain ratio between thickness and curvature and demonstrates that the bimetal’s hysteresis is lowered when its thickness increases, this leading to less mechanical energy per snap. Moreover, if the bimetal’s thickness keeps on increasing, this could even lead to the system losing its bi-stability.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But the reason of such a behaviour was again related to the bimetal properties. Arnaud studied bimetal modelling during his PhD work and his findings allow us to explain the observed trend [ 23 , 24 ]. As previously mentioned, for bi-stable bimetals with a certain hysteresis, one of the parameters that fixes the hysteresis value is the ratio between the thicknesses of the bimetal and its curvature.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coupling of PZT Thin Films with Bimetallic Strip Heat Engines for Thermal Energy Harvesting

Boughaleb

Arnaud

Guiffard

et al. 2018

Sensors

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A thermal energy harvester based on a double transduction mechanism and which converts thermal energy into electrical energy by means of piezoelectric membranes and bimetals, has previously been developed and widely presented in the literature In such a device, the thermo-mechanical conversion is ensured by a bimetal whereas the electro-mechanical conversion is generated by a piezoelectric ceramic. However, it has been shown that only 19% of the mechanical energy delivered by the bimetal during its snap is converted into electrical energy. To extract more energy from the bimetallic strip and to increase the transduction efficiency, a new way to couple piezoelectric materials with bimetals has thus been explored through direct deposition of piezoelectric layers on bimetals. This paper consequently presents an alternative way to harvest heat, based on piezoelectric bimetallic strip heat engines and presents a proof of concept of such a system. In this light, different PZT (Lead zirconate titanate) thin films were synthesized directly on aluminium foils and were attached to the bimetals using conductive epoxy. The fabrication process of each sample is presented herein as well as the experimental tests carried out on the devices. Throughout this study, different thicknesses of the piezoelectric layers and substrates were tested to determine the most powerful configuration. Finally, the study also gives some guidelines for future improvements of piezoelectric bimetals.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupling of PZT Thin Films with Bimetallic Strip Heat Engines for Thermal Energy Harvesting

Boughaleb

Arnaud

Guiffard

et al. 2018

Sensors

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“…This unique approach allows a mechanical type of output due to the flexure of the strip when exposed to alternating cold and hot temperature sources. Further, this work also eliminates the need for liquid-vapor phase change [92,93]. Key to operation is construction of the bimetallic strip in a pre-buckled state.…”

Section: Bimetallic Strip Heat Enginesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifics of the thermal "snap" behavior of the approach were also considered using different bimetallics and scales from millimeter to micrometer [93]. On the microscale, the materials considered were Al-Si.…”

Section: Bimetallic Strip Heat Enginesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power Generation via Small Length Scale Thermo-Mechanical Systems: Current Status and Challenges, a Review

Burugupally

Weiss

2018

Energies

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There has been significant interest and work toward the development of small length scale (micrometer to centimeter) energy conversion systems—heat engines and thermal energy harvesters—that operate on different thermal sources. Small combustion driven heat engines offer high power densities and longer operating durations, and present an opportunity to replace large and heavy chemical batteries. Thermal energy harvesters provide a great opportunity to harness the freely available thermal energy: solar, geothermal, and human body heat. These systems can contribute to significant energy savings when coupled to an existing, larger power generation system (e.g., vehicles and diesel generators) for the purpose of energy recovery. In this review, we discuss technological challenges, opportunities, and recent progress in small length scale energy conversion systems with special focus on free piston devices (engines and expanders) and phase-change driven devices. We discuss in detail four important design considerations that can have significant effect on small length scale device performance.

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“…The theoretical Carnot‐relative efficiency was obtained from 2% to 4%. Arnaud et al, 4 modeled the thermal snap‐through of composite bimetallic beam energy harvesters to generalize the criterion of thermomechanical bistability. The modeling of thermomechanical transduction provided an expression for the computation of overall efficiency of bimetallic strip heat engine.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic model of a novel thermogravity rotary actuator for solar energy harvesting

et al. 2020

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Summary The direct conversion of thermal energy to mechanical energy is always been a challenging but demanding problem. In this article, we presented a nonconventional direct conversion mechanism of the readily available solar thermal and gravity energy to rotational mechanical energy. The developed rotating assembly affixed concentrically with a plurality of actuating arms harnesses the integrated solar‐gravity energy. Each actuating arm shifts the center of gravity of the attached solid mass with concentrated solar heating. The alternate shift in the center of gravity of each actuating arm with exposure to solar radiation produces a continuous revolution of rotating assembly around its axis of rotation. With a particular set of the system parameters with Al/Si3N4 bimetallic strip the thermal efficiency of the proposed thermogravity bimetallic strip heat actuator/engine is 12.41% which is 100 times more efficient compared to a gravity‐less thermal engine with same set up. The proposed thermogravity system can generate mechanical power ranges from less than 1 W to 40 kW with a particular set of system parameters. This solar‐gravity rotary actuator is a novel work in this domain which has a huge impact and contribution in the available rotary actuator or energy harvester knowledge.

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Thermo-mechanical efficiency of the bimetallic strip heat engine at the macro-scale and micro-scale

Cited by 17 publications

References 38 publications

Coupling of PZT Thin Films with Bimetallic Strip Heat Engines for Thermal Energy Harvesting

Coupling of PZT Thin Films with Bimetallic Strip Heat Engines for Thermal Energy Harvesting

Power Generation via Small Length Scale Thermo-Mechanical Systems: Current Status and Challenges, a Review

Dynamic model of a novel thermogravity rotary actuator for solar energy harvesting

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