Energy harvesting with dielectric elastomer generators

Description

Dielectric elastomer generators are deformable capacitors, assembled by coating an elastomer membrane with compliant electrodes. They are capable of converting mechanical into electrical energy with attributes such as high energy density, low cost and light weight. Applications in small scale energy harvesting will enable the charging of mobile electronic devices from the excess energy available while walking, whereas large scale energy harvesting applications will provide clean energy from renewable sources such as wind or ocean waves. One of the most essential and urgent challenges for research on dielectric elastomer generators is to identify or design materials with ideally suited properties. Therefore we perform experiments with an experimental setup that allows for assessing the aptitude of different materials for energy harvesting. We depict the cyclic path of the generator state in electrical and mechanical work-conjugate planes to enable a visual assessment of material performance and calculate the specific electrical energy generated per cycle, the mechanical to electrical energy conversion efficiency and the specific average power of the generator. This procedure is used to compare the generator performance of the commonly used acrylic elastomer (3MT VHBT 4910) with cheap and sustainable natural rubber. Based on a theoretical and experimental analysis of the region of allowable generator states in mechanical and electrical work-conjugate planes, we operate a generator utilizing a com

Period	30 May 2012
Event title	EuroEAP 2012
Event type	Conference
Location	GermanyShow on map