Multi-source energy harvester to power sensing hardware on rotating structures

Alexander Schlichting; Scott Ouellette; Clinton Carlson; Kevin M. Farinholt; Gyuhae Park; Charles R. Farrar

doi:10.1117/12.847708

29 March 2010 Multi-source energy harvester to power sensing hardware on rotating structures

Alexander Schlichting, Scott Ouellette, Clinton Carlson, Kevin M. Farinholt, Gyuhae Park, Charles R. Farrar

Proceedings Volume 7645, Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies 2010; 764503 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847708
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to meet 20% of the nation's energy needs through wind power by the year 2030. To accomplish this goal, the industry will need to produce larger (>100m diameter) turbines to increase efficiency and maximize energy production. It will be imperative to instrument the large composite structures with onboard sensing to provide structural health monitoring capabilities to understand the global response and integrity of these systems as they age. A critical component in the deployment of such a system will be a robust power source that can operate for the lifespan of the wind turbine. In this paper we consider the use of discrete, localized power sources that derive energy from the ambient (solar, thermal) or operational (kinetic) environment. This approach will rely on a multi-source configuration that scavenges energy from photovoltaic and piezoelectric transducers. Each harvester is first characterized individually in the laboratory and then they are combined through a multi-source power conditioner that is designed to combine the output of each harvester in series to power a small wireless sensor node that has active-sensing capabilities. The advantages/disadvantages of each approach are discussed, along with the proposed design for a field ready energy harvester that will be deployed on a small-scale 19.8m diameter wind turbine.

Citation Download Citation

Alexander Schlichting, Scott Ouellette, Clinton Carlson, Kevin M. Farinholt, Gyuhae Park, and Charles R. Farrar "Multi-source energy harvester to power sensing hardware on rotating structures", Proc. SPIE 7645, Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies 2010, 764503 (29 March 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847708

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