What Is Piezoelectricity: Part 1. Ear-Piercing Sounds Harvested for Energy. Engineers have figured how to harvest energy from sound; a neat physics trick that could soon lead to quieter jet engines, heavy construction equipment and factory machines, and perhaps a new way to generate wind power.
Separate teams of investigators have developed prototype devices that create small amounts of energy, just enough to run sensors inside noisy places. These sensors can then be used to actually dampen the sound of the noise itself, according to Stephen Horowitz, a research engineer at Ducommun Miltec, an aerospace contractor based in Huntsville, Ala. 11 Bizarre Sources For Alternative Energy Horowitz said he began looking at the problem a decade ago while a student at the University of Florida. “We were looking at engine liners and noise reduction technologies to quiet engines,” Horowitz said. Market forces sap the power from electric utilities. Two seemingly unrelated announcements drew much attention in the electric utility industry recently.
First, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for the U.S. electric utility industry, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) jointly recommended (PDF) changing how utilities should be regulated. Second, Duke Energy announced it will sell 13 Midwest merchant power plants. These announcements are actually related because they both result from the same dramatic changes affecting the electric utility industry. As Bob Dylan aptly noted, "the times they are a-changin'. " Regulators and other stakeholders must be prepared to address these changes. Under the traditional business model, electricity usage grew steadily. But this traditional model is crumbling, due to several factors:
Search: piezoelectric. ESA - The Energy Saving Assocation - Bumpy Energy. Tuesday 3rd December 2013.
Passing vehicles could soon be lighting our cities. Device ‘catches’ force of moving cars to produce electricity capable of powering households.
Innowattech breakthrough in alternative energy from road traffic. Aprovechan el tránsito vehicular para generar electricidad. New Inexpensive Technology Generates Electricity from Vehicle and Pedestrian Traffic. Wallowing in traffic seems like an enormous waste of time and resources.
But what if you could generate a little power during your daily commute? A Mexican entrepreneur has developed technology that collects electricity from the movements of vehicles and pedestrians, and since the device works with existing roads and sidewalks, the system could be an excellent way to capture the forces of current transportation networks without great expense.
Developed by Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández, the system is comprised of a polymeric material that is elevated several centimeters above street level. As cars or walkers depress the ramp, pressure is exerted on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is then forced through a hose and sent to a turbine. Low-cost system uses passing vehicles to generate electricity. Over the years, various researchers have developed systems in which the weight transferred through cars' wheels onto the road – or through pedestrians' feet onto the sidewalk – is used to generate electricity.
These systems utilize piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical stress into an electrical current. Such materials may be effective, but they're also too expensive for use in many parts of the world. That's why Mexican entrepreneur Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández created his own rather ingenious alternative. In Macías Hernández' system, small ramps made from a tough, tire-like polymer are embedded in the road, protruding 5 cm (2 in) above the surface. Inicio - Investigación y Desarrollo. Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians. Mexican entrepreneurs developed a system capable of using the vehicular flow to generate electric energy.
This development has the potentiality to produce sufficient electricity to power up a household through a device that "catches" the force of the moving cars. "This is a technology that provides sustainable energy and could be implemented at low prices, since it's a complement of already existing infrastructure: the concrete of streets and avenues," Héctor Ricardo Macías Hernández, developer of the system, said. He added that at a global level there are no records of similar projects, with exception of an English patent, but with the difference that in the European country piezoelectric floors are used, which are too expensive for developing countries. Manchester United's stadium gets a high tech upgrade. This article was taken from the November 2013 issue of Wired magazine.
Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. In April this year, the Manchester Evening News reported that Manchester United had commissioned an acoustic engineer to survey Old Trafford, to find out why 75,000 football fans were producing so little noise. NASA Piezoelectric Autonomous Responsivness (Plane Flapping Like a Bird) Under Pressure: Piezoelectric Energy To Be Generated By Paris Marathoners. By Ryan Koronowski.
Energy from speed breakers using piezoelectric crystal. The Big Question: Will piezoelectricity ever become a viable source of electricity. September 7th, 2013 By Kelly The ever increasing demand for power has made us look out for alternate forms of renewable energy like solar power, hydro-electric power, geo-thermal power and wind power etc.
One such renewable source of energy that has been gaining popularity over the past few years is the Piezoelectric Technology that generates power from the electromagnetic properties of some minerals found on earth. The basic principle behind Piezoelectricity is simple. Certain electromagnetic materials can generate electric fields when subjected to mechanical stress. Take for instance a floor or staircase fitted with this technology to harness the pressure caused by footsteps and convert the same to electricity. The floor or staircase would contain sensors that would absorb the pressure exerted on them by footsteps and transfer this pressure to piezo materials like ceramics or crystals.
Piezoelectric straw-covered skyscraper harvests energy.
Under Pressure: Piezoelectric Energy To Be Generated By Paris Marathoners. Generate Electricity as You Walk the City. Tokyo Train Station Testing Power-Generating Floor. Clean Power Published on December 4th, 2008 | by Ariel Schwartz Yesterday, we took a look at how piezoelectrics— crystals or ceramics that generate voltage when mechanical stress is applied— could allow cell phones to be powered by sound waves. Now the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has announced that it is installing piezoelectric elements in the floors of its Tokyo station in an attempt to generate power from passengers passing through ticket gates. JR East will begin its experiment on December 10 and continue it until February 2009.
The power-generating floor will cover an area of 25m squared and will be installed at 7 ticket gates and 7 staircase steps inside the gate. The company expects the floors to produce 1,400 kW/sec each day. For another example of a piezoelectric floor, check out London’s Bar Surya. Photo Credit: Altus via flickr under a Creative Commons License Tags: Japan, piezoelectric, tokyo, train, train station. Piezoelectrics: A New Way to Produce Electricity - Texas. Energy-Generating Floors to Power Tokyo Subways japan east rail corporation, jr east, piezoelectric floors, energy generating floors, human powered motion, passengers power train station, – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Gree. When the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) decided to invest in alternative energy sources, it only had to look to its users for the perfect source of energy. Recently the company decided to update their Tokyo Station with a revolutionary new piezoelectric energy generating floor.
The system will harvest the kinetic energy generated by crowds to power ticket gates and display systems! Piezoelectric flooring is a technology with a wide range of applications that is slowly being adopted in the race to develop alternative energy sources. After all, human power is readily available in pretty much any area with heavy foot traffic, such as a dancefloor, or a tourist attractions. Naturally, we were excited to hear that JR East will be installing these systems in the floor of one of busiest subway stations on the planet. Assemblyman Gatto wins funding for initial piezoelectric test. Interesting press release from Mike Gatto: After two years of work, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has found a new partner in the fight for green transportation and domestically produced alternative energy. Building on an idea of Gatto’s, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it will fund preliminary research on the potential of using California’s roadways to generate green electricity.
The research will focus on the large-scale energy-harvesting capabilities of piezoelectric materials, which are currently used in everything from lighters to smart phones. The research stems from a bill authored by Gatto, AB 306, which passed the legislature in 2011 with bipartisan support but was vetoed by Governor Brown because of a lack of funding for the project. In the veto message, the Governor encouraged Gatto to work through the CEC’s grant process to obtain funding for the project, and a year later, the assemblyman has successfully secured the funding.
ENERGY HARVESTING FROM AIRPORT RUNWAY. Abstract: Systems: Introduction to Piezoelectric Transducers. Gatto's bill would tap roads for renewable energy - LA Canada. A bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) would take the power of the road for renewable energy. The bill, one of many the Gov. Jerry Brown is wading through in the wake of the legislative recess, would require the California Energy Commission to explore the possibility of generating green electricity from passing cars, trucks and trains.
The legislation centers on what’s called piezoelectric technology, where censors are placed under a roadway and the vibrations produced by vehicles are converted into electricity. Gatto said this technology is already being used in other countries.
Bill Finds An Unlikely Renewable Energy Source: Non-Hybrid Vehicles. Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced AB 306, the Roadway / Highway Electrification Act pilot. As of press time, the Sierra Club has taken no official position on it, but may be reviewing it in the coming months. New Bill Could Allow California to Harness Power Otherwise Lost as Cars Travel Over Pavement. Workers installing road piezoelectric devices We’ve been presenting over time how piezoelectric devices could harness energy from different sources, and I think we were right supporting this technology. New Piezoelectric Railways Harvest Energy From Passing Trains. Piezoelectric technology generates energy from pressure and stress on certain surfaces, and we’ve seen it harvest electricity from roads and dance floors to power lights and signs.
Piezoelectric Energy-Generating Roads Proposed for California Gatto. These Exercise Machines Turn Your Sweat Into Electricity. Walk into a spinning class at the New York Sports Clubs' facility on Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street in Manhattan and you'll find 20 sweaty people furiously pedaling their stationary bikes. Award-winning energy harvester brings practical applications closer. Making Piezoelectricity a Daily Part of Our Lives. An Intriguing Possibility: » Energy Harvesting Pike Research. A retrofitted energy harvester for low frequency vibrations. SAO/NASA ADS Physics Abstract Service · Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)· References in the article· Citations to the Article (3) (Citation History) · Refereed Citations to the Article· Reads History· · Translate This Page Abstract. California highways may soon produce their own power. For many people, the sight of Los Angeles freeways during rush hour is a striking reminder of how rampant our fuel consuming ways have become.
Piezoelectric roads for California. Innowattech - Energy Harvesting Systems. Satellites Predict City Hot Spots - Space News.