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Energy Harvesting from Fluids Using Ionic Polymer Metal Composites

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Advances in Energy Harvesting Methods

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss energy harvesting from steady, oscillatory, and unsteady water flows using ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs). After a brief description of this new class of active materials and their ability to transduce strain energy into electrical form, we present three case studies spanning this range of flow environments. First, we examine energy harvesting from a heavy flapping flag hosting IPMCs in a steady flow water channel; second, we consider base excitation of a cantilevered IPMC to simulate the effect of an oscillatory flow; and finally, we investigate the impact of a vortex ring with an IPMC. Analytical insight on the mechanics of the coupled fluid–structure problem is used to interpret experimental results and provide design guidelines for energy harvesters based on active compliant materials in fluids.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research under grant numbers 386282-2010, CMMI-0745753 and CMMI-0926791, and N00014-10-1-0988, respectively. The authors would also like to thank the students Matteo Aureli, Emre Basaran, Alberto Giacomello, and Chekema Prince who have contributed to the research efforts summarized in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, 6 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA

    Maurizio Porfiri

  2. Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Sean D. Peterson

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  1. Maurizio Porfiri
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  2. Sean D. Peterson
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Correspondence to Maurizio Porfiri .

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  1. Steinman Hall T-228, The City College of New York, Street at Convent Avenue 140, New York, 10031, New York, USA

    Niell Elvin

  2. , G. W. Woodruff School of, Georgia Institute of Technology, J. Erskine Love Jr. Manufacturing Building 126, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia, USA

    Alper Erturk

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Porfiri, M., Peterson, S.D. (2013). Energy Harvesting from Fluids Using Ionic Polymer Metal Composites. In: Elvin, N., Erturk, A. (eds) Advances in Energy Harvesting Methods. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5705-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5705-3_9

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