SMART ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICES

The specific objectives are functional to the professional figure that the course aims to address, that of the expert in the field of energy harvesting devices from conventional and also  unconventional environmental sources. The "smart" context concerns the possibility of assisting other functions of interest in the engineering field, including the possibility of measuring physical quantities of interest. Different fields of application will be considered with particular emphasis on electrical machines, power systems, industrial architectures.

Knowledge and understanding

The student will acquire knowledge on design, modeling and experimental study of energy harvesters to power circuits and measurement systems. The main applications will be related to the fields of electrical and electronic engineering.

Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course, students will have the skills necessary to conceive a self-powered system by identifying its major sections and functionality. Students will have the skills necessary to design and characterize standard and innovative systems for various applications.

Making judgements 

Students will acquire autonomy of judgment for an accurate analysis of the systems considered, these skills will also be refined through experimental activities carried out in the laboratory.

Communication skills 

The student will enrich the technical language of sensors, transducers, energy harvesting and measurements with the aim of being able to adequately present himself in the world of work with adequate skills and an adequate technical profile. The performance of the laboratory will allow to refine the technical language and communication skills.

Learning skills 

The student will be able to autonomously expand his knowledge on intelligent and autonomous systems also through the in-depth study of reference texts, articles in specialized scientific journals and through the ideas offered by the seminar activities organized within the course.

Frontal lessons

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

Unit 1. Introduction

Energy harvesting, conventional and unconventional environmental sources, application areas.

Unit 2. Transduction systems

Materials, technologies and transduction mechanisms in energy harvesters from external sources (eg vibrations, noisy environments, thermal gradients, light sources, moving fluids, etc.).

Unit 3. Metrics and performance

Metrological characteristics of interest for estimating performance in energy harvesters. Metrological characterization.

Unit 4. Energy harvesting from periodic sources

Linear dynamical systems, conversion mechanisms, efficiency. Sources and waveforms. Design, modeling and simulation. Case studies: 50 Hz sources, electromechanical systems, power systems and electrical network.

Unit 5. Energy harvesting from random sources

Nonlinear dynamical systems, role of nonlinearities and efficiency. Sources and waveforms. Design, modeling and simulation. Case studies: noisy industrial vibration sources, noisy environments and induced signals.

Unit 6. Scaling

Energy harvesting in macro/micro and nano-metric scale. Processes, materials and fabrication. Design, modeling and simulation. Performance.

Unit 7. Conditioning circuits

Classic solutions. Innovative approaches for energy harvesting from vibrations, including random and low amplitude diode-less solutions and converters. Zero‑standby methods. Coupled systems for signal conditioning.

Unit 8. Autonomous and quasi-autonomous measurement systems

Characteristics of measurement systems and autonomous or quasi-autonomous nodes. Smart energy harvesting for sensing and scavenging. Design criteria.

Unit 9. Energy harvesting systems based on innovative materials/solutions

Hybrid solutions, multi-source energy harvesting, multifunctional materials.

Unit 10. Green energy harvesters

Materials, structures and principles for the realization of eco-friendly and biodegradable transducers. Realization processes, design and characterization. Linear and nonlinear systems based on bacterial cellulose for energy harvesting from vibrations. Sensors based on plants (Living sensors) and conversion mechanisms based on chemo-electrical principles.

Unit 11. Laboratory

Validation of the theoretical concepts. Design/implementation/characterization of energy harvesters and intelligent measurement devices in the context of electrical systems and industrial architectures.

Priya, S., & Inman, D. J. (Eds.). (2009). Energy harvesting technologies (Vol. 21, p. 2). New York: Springer.

Kazmierski, T. J., & Beeby, S. (2014). Energy harvesting systems (p. 2011). New York: Springer.