Investigation of human kinetic energy harvesting from human foot strike
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Date
2017-06
Authors
Teh Joo Ann
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Abstract
Due to the number of wireless sensor and low power consumer electronic device keep increasing, energy harvesting from human motion become more favored in recent years. By using such harvester, the electronic device can be charged up at anywhere and anytime. Besides, such harvester is also an environmental friendly device. In this study, an energy harvester based on human foot strike is proposed. The kinetic energy produced by the foot strike is harvested by using the piezoelectric materials and converted into an electrical energy. However, due to the output current produced by the piezoelectric material is an alternating current, a single phase full wave bridge rectifier is included in the prototype in order to convert the alternating current into a direct current which is suitable for battery charging. Besides, a voltage regulator is also included in this prototype in order to regulate the voltage generated by the piezoelectric material to a certain voltage level so that it can be readily used to charge up a battery. The effect of different types and different circuit configurations of piezoelectric materials on the electrical energy production are investigated in this study. Besides, the effect of several factors such as human body weight, human gender and human walking speed on the electrical energy production are also investigated. In the end of this research, it is found that the MCFT-41T-1.0A1-141 piezoelectric ceramic, which is thinner and greater in diameter can generate the greatest amount of electrical energy, which is 30.97 𝜇W. The amount of electrical energy that generated by six pieces of piezoelectric which are connected in series is also the greatest among the four different circuit configurations, which is 42.3 𝜇W. Besides, the electrical energy generated by people with greater body weight and faster walking speed are also greater. Finally, the results also showed that a male can generate greater amount of electrical energy when compared to female. Therefore, it can be concluded that the greatest amount of electrical energy obtained from this study, which is 96.25 𝜇W are generated by a male with a greater body weight who is walking at a faster speed.