Alternatives to external polarization source for dielectric elastomer generators: electrets versus piezoelectric materials

Clara Lagomarsini (1) , Giulia Lombardi (2) , Claire Jean-Mistral (3) , Alain Sylvestre (1)

1 G2ELab - Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Grenoble
2 Dept. Of Electrical, Electronic And Information Engineering, University Of Bologna
3 LaMCoS - Laboratoire de Mécanique des Contacts et des Structures [Villeurbanne]

Among the different technologies for kinetic energy harvesting, dielectric elastomers generators (DEGs) may represent a promising solution for supplying power to wearable low power consumption sensors and devices. These electrostatic generators provide a low-cost and lightweight solution to harvest high electrical energy densities from the mechanical deformation of an elastomeric membrane. The main disadvantage of these structures is the need of an external high voltage supply to perform the energetic cycle. In order to overcome this limitation and have a completely autonomous energy scavenger, our research group has been working since 2012, on coupling dielectric elastomers with electret materials (i.e. insulator materials that can hold a permanent electric charge over a long period of time). In the present work, a new hybrid solution for wearable energy harvesters based on DEG will be presented. This new autonomous device is based on the combination of a DEG with a piezoelectric material, which is used as new polarization source for the DEG energetic cycle. The working principle and the first results obtained on this new prototype are presented and a comparison between the two polarization solutions (electret and piezoelectric materials) is discussed.

Domaines: Energie électrique

Clara Lagomarsini, Giulia Lombardi, Claire Jean-Mistral, Alain Sylvestre. Alternatives to external polarization source for dielectric elastomer generators: electrets versus piezoelectric materials. 7th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles (EUROEAP2017), Jun 2017, Cartagène, Spain. ⟨hal-01551706⟩