SMA Engine

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5 Shape memory alloy engine for high efficiency low-temperature gradient
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7 thermal to electrical conversion
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9 Prashant Kumara*, Ravi Anant Kishorea,e, Deepam Mauryaa, Colin J Stewarta, Reza Mirzaeifarb,
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11 Eckhard Quandtc, and Shashank Priyaa,d*
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13 a
14 Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, 310 Durham
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Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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b
18 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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20 c
21 Kiel University, Institute for Materials Science, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
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d
23 Materials Research Institute, Penn State, University Park, PA 16802.
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25 e
26 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Pkwy, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
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28 Abstract
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31 More than half of the energy generated worldwide is lost as unused thermal energy because of
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33 the lack of efficient methodology for harnessing the low-grade heat. Here we demonstrate that
34 shape-memory alloy can be an effective mechanism for recovering low-grade heat. Shape
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36 memory alloys exhibit thermally induced martensite to austenite phase transformation and super-
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38 elasticity (stress-induced martensitic transformation). Employing these two characteristics, we
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40 demonstrate a thermal engine for harnessing waste energy through all modes of heat transfer:
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42 convection, conduction, and radiation. In this work, we performed material and heat transfer
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analysis for achieving high frequency, sustainable and efficient operation of our engine. An
45 optimized shape memory alloy engine generated 36 W from 1 kg or 234 kW of electricity from 1
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47 m3 of active material. A continuous three-day operation of several SMA engines could generate
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49 7.2 kWh of electricity when installed on a 500 m long hot pipe network. This generated power
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51 can reduce the carbon footprint by 5.1 kg of CO2 illustrating the promise of this technology for
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53 addressing climate change.
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55 Keywords: Shape Memory Alloy (SMA); Martensite; Austenite; Pseudo-elasticity; Heat engine;
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57 Energy harvesting.
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60 *Corresponding author: pkumar14@vt.edu, sup103@psu.edu
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65 Pursuant to the DOE Public Access Plan, this document represents the authors' peer-reviewed, accepted manuscript.
The published version of the article is available from the relevant publisher.
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4 Introduction
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7 Among the various forms of environmental energy available around us, thermal energy is the
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9 most abundant and ubiquitous. Thus, there have been considerable efforts made towards
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11 developing techniques for conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy. Thermal energy is
12 usually classified as high-grade, medium-grade and low-grade based in its temperature [1]. As
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14 shown in Fig.1(a), low-grade waste heat provides a huge work potential as it is abundantly
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16 present around us. In most of the industrial processes, a large amount of waste heat is generated,
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18 where, a major portion of this thermal energy is available in the form of low grade waste heat
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20 [2]. Harvesting this low grade thermal energy is highly desirable for efficient industrial process
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and environmental impact [3]. The thermal to electrical conversion process, however, becomes
23 complex with the decrease in heat source temperature. The traditional steam Rankine cycle based
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25 power plants are currently the most effective technology to obtain work from heat. However,
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27 these systems are bulkier and not efficient for low grade heat energy harvesting [4-6]. Other
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29 alternatives such as Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and Kalina cycle have been deployed for low
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31 temperature heat applications and waste heat recovery [7, 8]. The difficulty in obtaining suitable
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organic fluid for ORC [9], and proprietary nature of Kalina cycle [10] limit their practical
34 exploitation, especially for small-scale applications. In some of the methods, heat upgrading
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36 techniques (heat pumps and absorption heat transformers (AHTs)) are deployed to utilize the low
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38 grade waste heat [2, 11]. However, reliability of these technologies and their environmental
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40 effects are some of the challenges need to be solved [12].
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42 In recent years, significant efforts have been made to explore and develop the material based
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44 alternative technologies for low-grade thermal energy harvesting and waste heat recovery, such
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46 as thermoelectric [13-15], pyroelectric [16-18], thermomagnetic [19, 20], thermo-acoustics [21],
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48 and thermo-electrochemical [22, 23]. In thermoelectric generators (TEGs), a direct thermal to
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50 electrical energy conversion takes place due to the Seebeck effect and the performance relies on
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figure of merit of the material [24]. Pyroelectric devices are used to convert the fluctuating
53 temperature directly into electricity using ferroelectric materials [18]. Thermomagnetic device
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55 uses magnetic materials which undergo secondary phase change on thermal loading. This
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57 phenomenon is used to convert thermal to mechanical to electrical energy [23, 25]. In thermo-
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59 acoustic based device, a temperature gradient is used to produce acoustic waves by utilizing
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4 thermal energy, and acoustic wave is then converted to electricity by using piezoelectric material
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6 [21]. In another example, low temperature waste heat is directly converted into electricity
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8 through electrochemical cycle by utilizing electrode materials with low heat and high charge
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10 capacity. Out of all these material based choices, TEGs have dominated the scientific interest in
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12 capturing locally available thermal energy. However, there is a significant drop in the
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performance of TEGs (efficiency ~1-3%), when hot-side temperature is below 100 oC [26].
15 Other material based techniques mentioned above in current form provide smaller output power
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17 density and thus remain early-stage laboratory research. In trying to address this decades old
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19 grand challenge, we made a breakthrough in demonstration of small-scale heat engine based on
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21 shape memory alloy (SMA). SMA based engine was designed to operate at temperatures less
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23 than 80oC with the ambient acting as heat sink. The engine relies on two fundamental properties
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of SMA: (i) super-elasticity, and (ii) thermally induced martensite to austenite phase
26 transformation.
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29 There have been several attempts to develop the SMA system for converting heat energy into
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31 output mechanical work[27-29]. Recently, Sato et al. [30] have presented the large scale working
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device based on SMA that demonstrated 1.155 W output power for 40.25 cm3 of active material
34 volume (5 belt, weight of active material ~ 0.262 kg, device dimension: 18.50 cm x 5.50 cm x 5
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36 cm). However, most of these previous designs have remained laboratory experiments and their
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38 reliability and durability for a long-term domestic or commercial application remains
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40 challenging. Especially for the devices requiring rotation, challenges arise from the fact that heat
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42 needs to be captured from the source (hot-side temperature less than 80oC) at a very fast rate
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(several hundred rotations per minute) through an extremely thin interface (SMA wire diameter
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45 less than few hundred microns). Also, the residual heat in the wire has to be completely
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47 discarded to the ambient at equally fast rate to achieve continuous operation. As the size of SMA
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49 engine is reduced, the hot-side and the cold-side come closer to each other, which results in
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51 continuous accumulation of heat after each cycle. Eventually the accumulated heat stops the
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53 functioning of the device due to insufficient cooling. This has been the challenge towards
54 realizing a small scale SMA engine for the past four decades (since 1975).
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57 Here, we provide a breakthrough in developing small scale SMA engines operating at hot-
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59 side temperatures less than 100 °C and overcoming all of the above mentioned challenges. The
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4 potential of our SMA engine can be recognized from the data presented in Fig. 1(a). This data
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6 shows the amount of waste heat available corresponding to different thermal gradients and low
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8 grade heat (230 °C) is the major component of total waste heat. Fig. 1(b) shows the geothermal
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10 locations (wells and springs) [31] across the United States, which could provide the opportunity
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12 for deployment of SMA engine arrays demonstrated in this study. Fig. 1(c) shows various
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locations of hot pipes in the industrial and residential settings with low thermal gradient waste
15 heat.
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18 For harvesting this abundant amount of low grade thermal energy, the SMA wire needs to
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20 possess a low transition temperature, smaller hysteresis, low heat capacity, high thermal
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conductivity, and high thermo-elastic efficiency. Therefore, extensive investigations were
23 conducted on phase transition behavior, thermodynamic properties, and thermal hysteresis of
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25 SMA wires. Using the measured SMA material characteristics, we designed an engine
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27 comprising of two pulleys with different diameters, a thin SMA belt around two pulleys, a
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29 metallic container for fluid storage, and a small DC electric generator (Fig. S1). Fig. 1(d) shows
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31 array of SMA engines deployed on hot pipes (Fig. 1(c)). In this scenario, the heat from hot pipe
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will be conducted to fluid through metallic base of the container. The hot fluid then heats the
34 SMA wire above the transition temperature to run the engine. Our SMA engine was found to
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36 generate sufficient power needed for powering water health monitoring sensors and acoustic
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38 devices with hot-side temperature ranging between 60-80 °C. It is worthwhile to mention that the
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40 engine design presented here can be used at much lower hot-side temperatures (10 °C above the
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42 ambient) if the transition temperature of SMA can be reduced by modifying its composition [32].
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The long–term dynamic mechanical analysis (continuous three day operation) on the SMA wire
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45 indicated no significant change in the thermo-mechanical properties. The calculation presented in
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47 the supplementary file, projects that our SMA engine can generate 7.2 kWh over three-day
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49 period in an industrial setup comprising of 500 m long hot pipe (at ~80-90oC) network. This
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51 generated power can reduce the carbon footprint by 5.1 kg of CO2.
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54 Methods and Experiments
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The experiments consisted of three main steps. In the first step, differential scanning
57 calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) studies were performed on five
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59 different SMA wires and based upon the results most optimum wire was selected. Five samples
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4 of NiTi were used in as-received form for the DSC test: Wire 1 (0.25 mm, Muscle wires), Wire 2
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6 (0.38 mm, DYNALLOY, Inc), Wire 3 (0.2 mm, Johnson Matthey), Wire 4 (0.38 mm, DYNALLOY,
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8 Inc), and Wire 5 (0.44 mm, Sci-supply)). The SMA wires were cut into small pieces and the test
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10 specimens were washed thoroughly with acetone to remove any surface impurities. Before
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12 recording the final readings, each test specimens were heated and cooled multiple times in the
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temperature range of -40 °C to 100 °C in a closed furnace with heating/cooling rate of 10
15 °C/min. Further, DMA tests were conducted on the selected SMA wire. During these
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17 measurements, the sample was scanned from -20 °C to 100 °C at different temperature scan rates
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19 (1 °C/min, 2 °C/min and 3 °C/min) and frequencies (0.1 Hz,1.0 Hz, and 10 Hz). In the second
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21 step, dynamic thermal analysis was performed on the selected wire. The goal of the experiment
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23 was to identify the temperature distribution of the moving wire during operation, right from the
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point where the wire moves out of the contact with the heat source to the point where it returns
26 back to make contact with the heat source. This experiment is extremely important to understand
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28 the thermal response of the SMA wire vis-à-vis thermoelastic cycle efficiency of the SMA
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30 material when it is pre-stressed between the pulleys. The detailed schematic of the experimental
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32 setup is shown in Fig. S2(a). Since the SMA wire was thin (~ 0.44 mm) and moving, the
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34 experiment was very sensitive to external factors such as ambient temperature and air speed.
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Therefore, the entire experimental set-up was thermally isolated during the measurements.
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37 Infrared (IR) camera (FLIR SC6700, FLIR Systems, Inc.) was used to capture the radiation
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39 coming from the thin moving SMA wire and the temperature gradient was evaluated
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41 accordingly. Before running the experiments, IR camera was calibrated with a thermocouple by
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43 matching the surface temperature of the stationary wire under ambient condition (at 22°C). In
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45 order to mitigate the experimental error due to the reflections from the surroundings, the entire
46 experimental setup was painted black and covered with black fabrics. In addition, in order to
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48 obtain the accurate and high resolution thermal data, the entire engine was divided into small
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50 sections and the IR radiation coming from each section was captured separately. Also, a thin
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52 graphite layer was deposited on the SMA wire in order to enhance its surface emissivity. Before
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54 capturing any data from the IR camera, a preliminary thermal analysis (DSC) was conducted to
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understand the effect of the graphite layer on SMA wire. Fig. S2(b) shows the DSC results
57 before and after the graphite coating indicating very minor differences. Inset shows the scanning
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59 electron microscope (SEM) image having a graphite coating. All the thermal videos representing
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4 the dynamics of wire were processed using a MATLAB code to obtain the temperature profile.
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6 In order to minimize the inconsistency during experiments, temperature data from several videos
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8 were averaged and a final temperature gradient was obtained along the length of the wire. In
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10 addition, a high resolution camera was used to capture the vibration of the moving wire along
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12 with the thermal videos. The high resolution videos were then processed using MATLAB to
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obtain vibrational characteristics such as amplitude and frequency.
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16 In the third and last step, we measured the power output of SMA engine. Fig. S3 shows the
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18 schematic diagram of the experimental set-up used to measure the mechanical and electrical
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20 power output. Two pulleys of different diameters (optimized diameter ratio 1:3) were fixed on
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two ends of 3-D slider stand through two small ball bearings. The SMA wire was looped around
23 the two pulleys. The optimal distance of 16.51 cm was maintained between the two pulleys. The
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25 shaft through the lower pulley was connected to a small permanent magnet DC generator (rated
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27 at 6V and Model # RF-500TB). A small portion of the SMA wire maintaining contact with the
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29 lower pulley was heated either through hot water bath or a heat gun or radiation from a hot plate.
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31 In order to determine the mechanical power, we first decoupled the electrical generator from
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SMA engine. The angular speed of pulley was then recorded from the instant rotation starts to
34 the time rotation reaches the steady state. Moment of inertia (I) of the pulleys was obtained using
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36 a CAD software, SOLIDWORKS.
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39 The generator (coupled with engine) was connected to a resistance box (RS-201, IET LABS
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Inc.) whose resistance could be varied between 0 to 500 Ω to identify the optimal load. A data
42 acquisition system, SIGLAB-SIGDEMO was used to acquire the voltage waveform. A voltmeter
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44 (FLUKE 179) was also connected in parallel to the external resistance to monitor the output
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46 voltage. An optical tachometer (SHIMPO DT-209X) was used to measure the angular speed of
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48 the rotating pulleys.
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50 Results and discussion
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53 In the first stage, we performed material investigations to identify the most suitable SMA
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55 alloy composition for engine design. Focus in this stage was on understanding the fundamental
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material behavior under cyclic temperature and stress variations. In the second stage, we
58 performed thermal transport analysis to ensure rapid heat transfer rate across the SMA wire.
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4 Lastly, in the third step, we performed systematic experiments on heat engine to fully quantify
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6 the device performance.
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9 SMA investigations for design of heat engine
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11 A comprehensive DSC analysis was performed on different SMA wires to understand the
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13 thermal deformation cycle and identify the composition which has maximum thermodynamic
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15 efficiency at low temperatures under stress free condition. Supplementary Fig. S4(a)-(e) show
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17 the hysteresis across phase change and the transition temperature for each sample. Using this
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19 experimental heat flow diagram, the critical temperatures Ms (martensite start), Mf (martensite
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finish), As (austenite start), and Af (austenite finish) for forward and reverse transformation
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22 were quantified. It can be seen from Fig. S4 that wire 5 has the lowest forward transition
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24 temperature of 48°C, which is most suitable for our heat engine. The difference between thermal
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26 energy going-in and coming-out of the wires was found to be very small, which should be the
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28 case since the DSC tests were run under no stress condition (no work). Residual heat
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30 accumulation may cause thermo-mechanical fatigue in the system. Fig. S5 (a), (b) and (c) show
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detailed results on phase transition of the annealed sample. Thermal annealing results in shift of
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33 transition temperature from 48 °C to 54 °C. SMA wire was also characterized using dynamic
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35 mechanical analyzer (DMA) in order to determine the force dynamics and viscoelasticity
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37 properties. Detailed comparative study of damping and storage modulus values for as-received
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39 and annealed SMA samples are shown in Supplementary Fig. S6-8. We observed that with the
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41 increase of frequency the damping coefficient decreases, and with the increase of temperature
42 scan rate the transition temperature of the wire increases.
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45 Thermal analysis of the heat engine
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The power output of an SMA engine primarily depends on the thermoelastic cycle frequency
49 i.e. the rate at which the phase transition occurs in forward and reverse directions. The efficiency
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51 of SMA engine can be enhanced by avoiding excessive heating or cooling during the thermal
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53 cycle. In order to analyze the temperature distribution along the wire under operating conditions,
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55 thermal videos were recorded for various sections of the wire, as shown in Fig. 2(a), while
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57 maintaining the wire speed at 0.25 m/s. The first section was considered 1 cm above the hot
58 pulley to avoid the transient effects of thermal zone generated from hot source which assisted in
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4 measuring the correct temperature values on wire surface. Detailed experimental configuration is
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6 described in Fig. S2.
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9 The vibration of SMA wire plays an important role in determining the performance of heat
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11 engine, as it enhances the convective cooling of the wire. The convective heat transfer
12 coefficient, , in this case, depends on the velocity of the wire in the direction of rotation as well
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14 as vibrational speed in the normal direction. Fig. S9(a) and (b) show the vibration profile
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16 (captured by high resolution camera) of wire in the time domain and qualitative Fast Fourier
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18 Transformation (FFT) response. The wire is vibrating without any fixed pattern and the
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20 frequency response splits into many major frequencies between, ~ 0 to ~15 Hz.
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22 Fig. 2(b) compares the temperature across a selected section of wire obtained experimentally
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24 and empirically using equation (s7) for different values of heat transfer coefficient. It can be
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26 noted that at h=250 W/m2-K, analytical results are in close agreement with the experimental
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28 results (maximum deviation of less than 3%). Fig. S10 shows the heat transfer analysis of
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30 moving wire and Supplementary Table S1 lists the thermal properties. This predicted heat
31 transfer coefficient includes the simultaneous effect of forced convection due to linear speed
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33 (due to the rotation of the pulley) and vibration of the wire. Validated analytical model was used
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35 to evaluate the temperature profile of the wire for heat transfer coefficients ranging from 200-400
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37 W/m2-K, using Supplementary Equation (s7). As cooling coefficient approaches 320 W/m2-K
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39 (with the wire speed of 1.8 – 2 m/s), the temperature of wire reduces by 3.75 °C more (compare
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to h=200 W/m2-K) in the first section of the wire. This analysis indicates the location of wire
42 where the reverse phase transition temperature is achieved. We use this information to optimize
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44 the length of the wire in order to reduce the size of heat engine.
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47 Fig. 2(c) shows the temperature profile of wire loop starting from the emerging point near the
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49 lower pulley to the upper pulley and from the upper pulley to lower pulley. Fig. 2(d) compares
50 the temperature profile obtained using our empirical model (Supplementary Equation (s7)),
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52 experimental results, and the results obtained from the model proposed by Kase et al.[33]. Our
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54 results differ from the model prediction of Kase et al. by 6-7%, which can be correlated with the
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56 difference in the experimental setup and vibrational dynamics of the wire that includes the wire
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58 curvature effect. Fig. 2(d) shows the effect of curvature near the upper cold pulley on the
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temperature profile of wire.
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4 SMA heat engine performance
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7 Next, we quantified the performance of the engine by cycling the heat source (water)
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9 temperature from 55-85 °C. The martensite to austenite transition completes at 54 °C, thus, the
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11 hot-side temperature was maintained above 55 °C. The heat sink temperature was fixed at
12 ambient temperature. As shown in Fig. 3(a), the angular velocity of pulley varies in proportion
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14 with hot side temperature. It is important to note that in Fig. S11, the angular speed of pulley
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16 does not follow the same path during the heating and cooling cycle. Another important parameter
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18 that affects the system’s efficiency was found to be the dip angle, the angle made at the center by
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20 portion of the lower pulley exposed to heat source. Fig. 3(b) compares the variation in angular
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speed with time at three different dip angles when the heat source is fixed at 70°C. It is
23 interesting to note that there exists an optimal dip angle (~ 56o) for maximum angular speed. The
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25 angular speed was found to first increase with an increase in dip angle due to the increased heat
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27 inflow. The angular speed is maximum when the dip angle is approximately equal to contact
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29 angle of SMA wire with the pulley. Increasing the dip angle further reduces the angular speed.
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31 This could happen because of increase in drag forces with increase in dip angle.
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33 An optimized SMA engine with respect to heat source temperature and dip angle was
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35 examined under different heating modes: hot water bath, hot air, and radiative heating from a hot
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37 plate. Fig. 3(c) and (d) show the SMA engines speed (rotation per minute) operating under
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39 different heat sources. The temperature of hot air was maintained at 125 °C. The hot plate
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temperature was fixed at 250oC and the gap distance between hot plate and wire was 1 cm. In
42 order to enhance the heat transfer, silver paste was applied on inside the groove of lower pulley.
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44 It can be noted from Fig. 3(c), that the silver paste improves the angular speed of SMA engine.
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46 The maximum angular speed of the lower pulley in the steady state was measured to be 164 rpm
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48 and 268 rpm for hot air and hot plate, respectively. Fig. 3(d) shows the angular speed of the
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50 upper pulley at different hot-side temperatures after the system has reached steady state. It can be
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seen that the SMA engine achieves a maximum angular speed when hot-side temperature is 80
53 °C and the corresponding angular speed is 420 rpm. It should be noted that the speed shown on
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55 y-axis of Fig. 3(c) is the rpm of the lower pulley; whereas, the rpm shown in Fig. 3(d) is the rpm
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57 of the upper pulley, which is three times lower than that of the lower pulley. From these results it
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59 can be concluded that the SMA engine performs best when the heat source is hot water. This is
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4 expected as the heat transfer coefficient in case of water is much higher than that of air.
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6 Therefore, in the remainder of this study, hot water is used as the heat source.
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9 In rotational dynamics, mechanical power is given as the product of torque and angular
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11 speed, and it can be expressed as [34]:
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13 d
14 Pmech  I   (1)
dt
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17 where I is the moment of inertia of pulleys, d/dt is angular acceleration of pulleys, and  is
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19 angular speed (rad/s). Next, we measured variation of angular speed as a function of time for
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21 upper and lower pulleys, as shown in Fig. 4(a). A sixth order polynomial function was used to
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obtain a functional relationship that describes the angular speed of the pulley with respect to
24 time. The angular acceleration of the upper and lower pulleys can be determined by taking the
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26 time derivative of the polynomial expression. Angular acceleration multiplied with the total
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28 moment of inertia of the rotating body provides the torque. This torque was then used to
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30 determine the mechanical power by using equation (1).
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32 Fig. 4(b) and (c) show the angular speed, torque, and mechanical power of the upper and
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34 lower pulleys, respectively, at hot water temperature ( ) of 69 °C. These figures depict that the
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36 torque is maximum when the pulley is just about to rotate (start-up torque), it decreases as the
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38 angular speed increases, and it diminishes to zero after the steady state is achieved. The
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40 mechanical power is zero at the beginning (since the system is at rest), it increases with the
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42 increase in angular speed until it gains a maximum value (when the product of torque and
43 angular speed is highest), and then it slowly decreases. Fig 4(d) depicts the total mechanical
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45 power of the SMA engine at °C. The maximum mechanical power can be found to be
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47 12.5 mW. Fig. 5(a) shows the comparison of mechanical power at two different hot water
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49 temperatures: °C and 80 °C. The maximum mechanical power obtained by the engine
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51 is 26mW at 80 °C, which is more than twice the mechanical power obtained at
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53 °C. The specific mechanical power, calculated by dividing the mechanical power over the
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mass of the active component (SMA wire in this case), was found to be 52 W/kg at °C.
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57 In order to quantify the electrical power output, we connected a small permanent magnet DC
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59 motor (rated at 6 V) with the shaft of the lower pulley. Detailed experimental setup is shown in
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4 Fig. S3. Fig. 5(b) shows the variation of generator’s shaft rpm and external load resistance at
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6 different heat source temperatures (hot water). It can be seen that at a fixed load the shaft rpm
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8 increases with increase in the hot water temperature. At a fixed temperature, the rpm first
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10 increases with increase in the load resistance and then saturates. Fig. 5(c) shows the output DC
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12 voltage (V) and the output current (I) obtained for different load resistances at a fixed hot water
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temperature of 80°C. V-I plots at other hot water temperatures are not shown for the purpose of
15 graphical clarity. The voltage follows a similar trend as the rpm of the generator’s shaft, and the
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17 maximum output voltage of 1.7 V was obtained at 80oC when the generator has virtually no load
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19 (at 500Ω). Fig. 5(d) depicts the electrical power output as a function of external resistance at
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21 different values of heat source temperature. It can be seen that SMA engine generates maximum
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23 electrical power output of 18 mW across 70 Ω load resistance when hot water temperature is 80
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°C. The electrical power can be scaled up by using multiple uncoupled devices connected to a
26 common heat source. To illustrate the scalability of our engine, we designed experiments with
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28 three harvesting units (Fig. S12(a)) and the corresponding results are shown in Fig. S12(b). The
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30 maximum output power can be obtained to ~24 mW at hot-side of 69oC.
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Fig. 6 compares the efficiencies calculated for SMA heat engine. SMA material’s
34 thermodynamic efficiency is calculated to be 5.0% using Supplementary Equation (s8). The
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36 absolute efficiency of SMA engine is 1.5%, which is 10.5% of the Carnot efficiency. It should be
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38 noted that although output power increases with increase in hot water temperature, the efficiency
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40 is maximum at 70 °C. This is an important observation because the forward phase transformation
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42 occurs at 54 °C, which is effectively achieved when hot water temperature is 70 °C. Overheating
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the SMA wire beyond this temperature decreases the system’s efficiency. The optimal heat
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45 source temperature is the one where 100% forward phase transformation is completed. This is
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47 also true for the heat sink temperature. Over-heating or under-cooling decrease the system’s
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49 efficiency.
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The effectiveness of the SMA heat engine was compared with other existing technologies
53 used for thermal-to-electrical energy conversion. In this domain, a thermoelectric generator
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55 (TEG) is the most popular device. Normally, the output power and efficiency of TEGs are not
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57 readily available for operation below 100oC. We, therefore, developed a numerical model using
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59 ANSYS workbench v17.0 to determine these quantities and validated our calculations with the
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4 experimental results reported by Hao et al. [13]. The numerical model was then used to produce
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6 the power and efficiency data for TEG operating below 100 °C. Fig. S14 compares the numerical
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8 results with the experimental results, which were found to be in close agreement. The numerical
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10 model was then modified to account for ambient as the heat sink. From this analysis, at a
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12 temperature above 70 °C, SMA engine is competitive (Fig. 7(a)) with TEG. Fig. 7(b) compares
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different power indices in terms of active material power density and active material specific
15 power for TEG and SMA engine. The SMA engine can be seen to be competitive with TEG in
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17 all the attributes. Further, we compared the cost of our engine with one of the commercially
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19 available TEG and found that SMA engine is a much cheaper solution (supplementary, section
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21 S10). Recently, thermal energy harvesting using tensile muscles has been reported [35], which
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23 were shown to exhibit 7.2 W/kg at temperature difference of 70 oC. Comparatively, SMA engine
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provides the specific power of 36 W/kg at lower temperature difference of 58 °C. In another
26 recent study, a small scale thermo-magnetic harvester has been realized for harvesting thermal
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28 gradient by using phase transformations in gadolinium [19]. On the basis of information
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30 available, we evaluated the specific realized power as ~0.6 W/kg for the temperature gradient
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32 (ΔT) of 80 °C. This implies that the SMA engine presented in this study exhibits improved
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34 performance compared to all current thermal energy harvesting technologies.
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36 Demonstrations of SMA heat engine and future impact
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39 We successfully demonstrated several practical applications which could be powered by
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SMA heat engine. In the first demonstration, we continuously operated a sound projector in both
42 air and water medium (supplementary movie). Fig. 7(c) shows the sound generation in water
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44 medium. The sound pressure is recorded by hydrophone (Brüel & Kjær type-8103). Fig. 7(d)
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46 shows the waveform for generated acoustic pressure. This demonstration paves the pathway for
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48 self-sustained air/under-water acoustic communication. We also demonstrate the real-time water-
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50 health monitoring using the SMA heat engine (Fig. S15). This application provides direction for
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the development of self-sustained health monitoring devices that can be deployed in residential
53 buildings and in natural environments such as hot springs.
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56 Next, we evaluated the impact of our heat engine at large scale for a long duration of time.
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58 Detailed calculations are shown in supplementary (section S13). Through DMA experiments
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(Fig. S16), we show that the SMA can undergo thermal cycling for three days without any
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4 degradation. On the basis of these outcomes, we predict that if our heat engine is operated for 1-3
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6 days it can generate 2.4-7.2 kWh of energy (equivalent to 1.7 – 5.1 kg of CO2). To further
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8 strengthen our arguments for long term operation, we operated heat engine for continuous 10
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10 hours at 65oC in laboratory environment (Fig. S17), and did not observe any change in the
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12 performance.
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14 The durability of our system is related to the fact that phase transformation happens
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16 instantaneously at each point of the material which experiences the required temperature
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18 changes. However, in a bulk material, the temperature will not rise and drop uniformly over the
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whole volume (i.e. the cross-section of wire). If the temperature changes are concentrated at the
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21 surface of the wire, the whole material would not be contributing to the phase transformation,
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23 and thereby, reduce efficiency. Also, a non-uniform distribution of phase transformation triggers
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25 the fatigue failure. The observed efficiency and the fatigue resistance of the system further attest
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27 the robustness of our engine. The selection of smaller radius wire and enhanced heating time,
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29 ensured a uniform phase transformation (forward and reverse) in the wire (see supplementary,
30 section S14, for more discussion).
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33 Conclusion
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35 In summary, we demonstrate the operation of a low grade shape memory alloy heat engine
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37 that operates below 80oC using ambient as the heat sink. Among the different heat sources
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39 examined, the SMA engine performed best with the hot water as the heat source. The maximum
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41 mechanical power of the shape memory alloy heat engine was found to be 12.5 mW at 69 °C and
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26 mW at 80 °C. The mechanical power density of the engine was calculated to be 52 W/kg of
44 the active mass (shape memory alloy wire). The maximum electrical power of the SMA heat
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46 engine was found to be 8.8 mW at 70 °C and 18 mW at 80 °C. The electrical power density of
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48 the engine was calculated to be 36 W/kg of the active mass (shape memory alloy wire). The
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50 shape memory alloy material’s thermodynamic efficiency was found to be 5.0%. The maximum
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52 thermal-to-electrical conversion efficiency of the engine was 1.5%, which is 10.5% of the Carnot
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54
efficiency. The engine was successfully demonstrated for powering acoustic projector and water
55 health monitoring sensors. Results show that shape memory alloy heat engines of the dimensions
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57 shown here can reduce 1.7 kg of CO2 (carbon footprint) production per day.
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60 Conflicts of interest
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4 There are no conflicts to declare.
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6 Acknowledgements
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9 The authors would like to thank center for energy harvesting materials and systems (CEHMS)
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11 for providing the facilities and infrastructure. S.P. acknowledges the financial support from
12 DARPA MATRIX program. P.K. acknowledges the funding from Office of Naval Research
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14 (ONR). R.K. is supported through ICTAS Doctoral Scholarship and AMRDEC SBIR program.
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16 D.M. acknowledges the support from Office of Basic Energy Science, Department of Energy.
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18 We thank Dr. Bruce Orler for helping us in acquiring data from DSC and DMA.
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24 Main figures:
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39 Fig. 1: Thermal energy available at various locations (industry, home, and geothermal sites) for
40 potential deployment of SMA based heat engine. (a) A bar chart representing the potential of
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42 thermal energy harvesting in various categories (subdivided on the basis of temperature range)
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44 [6]. The graph is redrawn on the basis of data given in reference 6. (b) Geothermal locations
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46 across the United States (in temperature range of 55-100 oC) for the deployment of SMA
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48 engine[31]. This image was created off the NREL geothermal prospector site. The underlying
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data is compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of
51 Energy. (c) Various home and industrial hot pipe locations for effective utilization of SMA
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53 engine. (d) An array of SMA engines deployed on pipe (along with single device) for the
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55 prospective utilization of hot thermal zone for maximizing the power and reducing the carbon
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57 foot print.
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42 Fig. 2: Dynamic thermal investigation of thin SMA wire (active material in the engine) by IR
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44 thermography. (a) Basic design of the SMA engine. The active material is divided into many
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46 sections for accurate thermal profiling of thin and vibrating wires. (b) Experimentally obtained
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temperature profile of moving wire (in steady state) for 1st section of active material at particular
49 dynamic condition and its comparison with modeled temperature profile at different predicted
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51 heat transfer coefficients (h). Temperature profile obtained at h=250 W/K-m2 is matching with
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53 experiments. (c) Temperature profile for the all the sections where wire is cooled continuously
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55 after emerging from hot source. Section just before hot source acts as transition zone for heating
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57 of cooled wire. (d) Complete thermal cycle of engine from heating-cooling-heating, and
58 comparison of cooling profile with predicted h value and theoretical relationship developed by
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60 S.Kase et al.[33].
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44 Fig. 3: Performance characterization of optimized SMA engine for energy harvesting purposes.
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46 (a) SMA engine performance under load for increasing and decreasing the hot side temperature
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48
continuously. This shows the increasing and decreasing trend of RPM with respect to
49 temperature. (b) Performance optimization of SMA engine at different dip angles (length of wire
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51 exposed to hot bath). (c) Engine performance (in terms of lower pulley rotation) with different
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53 forms of non-contact heat sources such as hot air and hot plates. (d) SMA engine performance
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55 (in terms of upper pulley rotation) at different temperatures of hot bath. A significant increase
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57 has been observed with increasing hot side temperature.
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37 Fig. 4: Mechanical power calculation for SMA engine. (a) Angular velocity of upper pulley
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39 along with 6th order polynomial curve fit when hot water is maintained at 69°C. The angular
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41 acceleration can be determined by taking the time derivative of the polynomial expression. (b)
42 Angular velocity, derived torque and mechanical power (considering the upper pulley) in time
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44 domain. (c) Angular velocity, derived torque and mechanical power (considering the lower
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46 pulley) in time domain. (d) Final evaluated mechanical power of whole SMA engine when hot
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48 water bath is at 69°C. The maximum mechanical power is around 12.5 mW.
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44 Fig. 5: SMA engine performance. (a) Mechanical power for two different thermal input
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46 conditions. Maximum mechanical power obtained is 52W/kg (26mW) for operating range
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48 considered in this study. (b) Generator (motor operated in reverse) shaft rotation per minute
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(rpm) at different load with different thermal input temperature from hot water bath. (c) Output
51 current and output voltage as a function of external load resistance for particular thermal input
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53 condition. Maximum voltage obtained is ~1.7V (at 500 Ohms) for temperature considered here.
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55 (d) Power obtained as a function of externally applied resistance at different thermal input.
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57 Maximum electrical power obtained is 36W/kg (18mW) within the operating temperature range
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4 at 69% of generator efficiency. The matching external resistance for maximum power output is
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6 70Ω.
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46 Fig. 6: Comparison of different type of efficiencies for the SMA engine. Carnot efficiency is
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48 calculated from heat source and sink temperatures. Absolute efficiency is system’s actual
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50
efficiency and evaluated as electrical power output/ thermal energy input. Material
51 thermodynamic efficiency is deduced from the phase transition curve of SMA wire by using
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53 fundamentals of thermodynamics. This gives the maximum material capacity for power
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55 scavenging. Relative efficiency is defined as absolute efficiency/Carnot efficiency. SMA engine
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57 performs maximum efficiency when hot water bath is at 70°C.
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45 Fig. 7: Comparison of SMA engine with existing state of the art thermal energy harvesting
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47 technology such as TEG, and experimental setup for powering acoustic projector. (a) Simulation
48 results on TEG under different boundary conditions and comparison with the efficiency of basic
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50 version of SMA engine. At temperature above 70 °C, SMA engine is competitive with TEG. (b)
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52 Various power density indices such as power per unit volume and power per unit mass of active
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54 materials along with efficiency are compared for TEG and SMA engine. (c) Experimental setup
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56 for demonstration of practical thermal energy harvesting for real-time under water acoustic
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measurement. (d) Time domain acoustic pressure waveform generated in water from a small
59 SMA engine. The pressure was recorded at 2 cm above the device by hydrophone.
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12 Shape memory alloy engine for high efficiency low-temperature gradient
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14 thermal to electrical conversion
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17 Prashant Kumara*, Ravi Anant Kishorea,e, Deepam Mauryaa, Colin J Stewarta, Reza Mirzaeifarb,
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19 Eckhard Quandtc, and Shashank Priyaa,d*
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21 a
Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, 310 Durham
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23 Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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25 b
26 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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28 c
Kiel University, Institute for Materials Science, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
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30 d
31 Materials Research Institute, Penn State, University Park, PA 16802.
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33 e
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Pkwy, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
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Supplementary Information
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S1. Basic schematics of the system and working principle:
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34 Fig. S1: (a) Schematic of front and side views of shape memory alloy engine. SMA wire gets the
35 heat from lower pulley (dipped in hot bath). Due to phase transition of SMA wire on thermal
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37 input, strain develops inside the wire (contracts), and produces the torques in pulley (due to
38 contact friction between wire and pulley). This torque then turns the pulley and attached
39 generator and produces the electricity. (b) Schematic representation of displacement vs.
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41 temperature profile of shape memory alloy. With increase in temperature, displacement
42 decreases and generates the differential tension across the pulley
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S2. Thermal analysis setup
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53 Fig. S2: (a) Schematic showing the setup for thermal analysis of thin dynamic shape memory
54 wire (graphite coated) wrapped around pulleys. IR thermography has been used to capture the
55 temperature. (b) Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results for SMA wire, with and without
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57 graphite coating. The differences are small, therefore, any significant effect on wire behavior
58 during thermal analysis has been neglected.
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S3. Experimental setup for converting thermal to electrical energy:
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43 Fig. S3: Schematic showing the experimental setup for quantifying the conversion of thermal
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45 energy into electrical energy. Electrical power at different temperatures were measured.
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4 S4. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results for as-received wires:
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53 Fig. S4: DSC results for five different wires from various companies. (a) Wire 1 (0.25 mm,
54 Muscle wires). (b) Wire 2 (0.38 mm, DYNALLOY, Inc). (c) Wire 3 (0.2 mm, Johnson Matthey).
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56 (d) Wire 4 (0.38 mm, DYNALLOY,Inc). (e) Wire 5 (Sci-supply). These results were important
57 to find the suitable wire.
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4 S5. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results for annealed wires:
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Fig. S5: DSC results for annealed SMA wire (selected for SMA engine) at different
54 temperature scanning rate; 5,10 and 20°C/min. Annealing was done at 600 oC for 30 minutes,
55 (a) complete cycle of heating and cooling of sample, (b) and (c) enlarged graphs of heating
56 and cooling profile, and the comparison at different temperature ramping rate.
57
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62 29
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1
2
3
4 S6. DMA analysis for determining the dynamic thermo-mechanical properties of wires:
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Fig. S6: DMA results for un-annealed selected NiTi wire. (a) Tan delta measurement of SMA
60 wire for three frequencies. (b) Tan delta measurement of SMA wire for three temperature rate.
61 (c),(d),(e) and (f) shows the comparison of tan delta results of wire for different temperature
62 30
scan rates and frequencies.
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64
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54 Fig. S7: DMA results for un-annealed selected NiTi wire, (a),(b),(c),(d),(e)and (f) shows the
55 comparison of storage modulus results for different temperature scan rates and frequencies.
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62 31
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1
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55 Fig. S8: DMA results for annealed selected NiTi wire, (a),(b),(c),(d),(e)and (f) shows the
56 comparison of storage modulus results for different temperature scan rates and frequencies.
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62 32
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1
2
3
4
5
6
S7. Thermal modeling of rotary SMA engine:
7
8
9
10
11 0.006
12 (a) Vibration of Wire
(b)
13 Mean Position
0.004
Amplitude of Vibration (m)
14
15
Amplitude (a.u)
16
0.002
17
18
19
0.000
20
21
22 -0.002
23
24
25 -0.004
26 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
27
Time in Seconds (s) Frequency (Hz)
28
29
30
Fig. S9: (a) Horizontal vibration profile of wire during system operations. (b) The time domain
31 vibration profile is converted into frequency domain to observe the dominant frequencies.
32
33
34
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38
39
x0 x0
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53 Fig. S10: Conceptual diagram for modeling of moving wire. For simplicity of modeling, wrapped
54 wire is converted into linear moving wire.
55
56
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60
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62 33
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1
2
3
4 The exact analytical thermal modeling of rotary SMA engine is complex due to curvature effect
5
6 in heat transfer, dynamic metal to metal contact heat transfer, non-linear response to thermal
7 input etc. However, a simplified solution can be obtained which provides realistic estimation for
8
9 SMA engine behavior. For reducing the modeling complexity, we converted the lopped wire into
10 linear profile and allowed it to move through hot source as shown in Figure S10. In our model, a
11 wire is moving from negative direction to positive direction and passing through heat source
12
13 placed at origin. Heat transfer analysis on an element ( dx ) of moving wire is shown in equation
14 (s1):
15
16 dq
17 q q dx  mC p dT  dqc  dqr (s1)
18 dx
19
20 where q is heat flow, m is weight of wire, Cp is heat capacity of wire
21
22 Moving mass can be further given by equation (s2)
23
24 m   AV (s2)
25
26 where ρ is SMA density, A is cross section area of wire, V is velocity of wire.
27
28
29
Conductive heat transfers while heat source is at origin can be given by equation (s3)
30
dT
31
32
q   kA (s3)
33
dx
34
35 where k is thermal conductivity of SMA wire. The convective heat loss through moving element
36 of wire is given by equation (s4)
37
38 dqc  h(T  T )dA , and dA  Pdx (s4)
39
40
41 where h is heat transfer coefficient and T is ambient temperature. Thermal radiation component
42
43
is given by equation (s5) as:
44
45 dqr   (T 4  T 4  )dA (s5)
46
47 where  is Stefan–Boltzmann constant,  is emissivity. Since the temperature difference is not
48
49 that significant, the thermal radiation impact can be safely being ignored.
50
51 The heat equation for moving wire through stationary heat source is shown in equation (s6)
52
53 d 2T C pV dT hP  P 4 4
54 2
+  (T  T )  (T  T  )  0 (s6)
55 dx k dx kA kA
56
57 On solving the heat equation, an expression of distance dependent temperature is obtained as
58
shown in equation (s7)
59
60
61
62 34
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64
1
2
3
4 
1  C pV  4 hkP  AC p 2V 2  2  
1  C pV  4 hkP  AC p 2V 2  2 
5  x   x 
6 2  k Ak  2  k Ak 
7 T ( x)  T  C1e  
 C2e  
(s7)
8
9 Constants C1 and C2 are determined using two boundary conditions, such as the temperature of
10
11 the wire at two locations (obtained experimentally from IR Thermography).
12
13 Figure S9 (a) and (b) show the vibration characteristic of the wire for mentioned thermal
14 experiment. As can be seen from the figures, wire has sufficient vibration in horizontal direction
15
16
which has significant contribution in overall cooling of the active material.
17
18 Thermal analysis parameters [2]:
19
20
21
22 Density Heat Capacity Thermal Conductivity Ambient Temperature
23
24
(Kg/m3) (J/(kg·K)) (W/m-K) (oC)
25 6450 322 18 22
26
27 Table S1
28
29
30
31 Table S1: Various important parameters which are used for modeling of thin moving SMA wire.
32
33 S8. System reversibility with respect to the temperature:
34
35
36 300
37
38
39 250 Cooling
Rotation per minute (RPM)
40
41
42 200
43
44
45
150
46
47
Heating
48
49 100
50
51
52 50
53
54
55
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
56 Temperature (°C)
57
58
59 Fig. S11: Reversibility test of heat engine. Hysteresis is observed for dynamic system in forward
60 and reverse cooling. First heating and then the cooling of the SMA engine was performed.
61
62 35
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64
1
2
3
4 We conducted the study to know the reversibility of our engine. With very slow rate of
5
6 increasing temperature the mechanical behavior (RPM) of the engine evaluated experimentally.
7 As shown in Figure S11 one cycle of gradual heating and cooling followed the different path of
8
9 mechanical behavior. With this experimental results we can conclude that the mention engine is
10 slightly irreversible in nature and doesn’t follow the reversible path.
11
12
13
14
15 (a)
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Hot
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31 (b)
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48
49 Fig. S12: (a) Schematic of multiple shape memory alloy engine in a constant temperature
50
51 reservoir. This experiments helped in understanding the scalability of the technology. (b)
52 Summation of maximum dc power obtained from three different SMA based heat engines.
53
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62 36
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1
2
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4 S9. Working principle and thermoelastic cycle of SMA engine:
5
6
7
8
9 (a)
10 1.0
10°C/min
11
12 0.5
13
Heat Flow (W/g)
14
0.0
15
16
17 -0.5
18
19 -1.0
20
21
-1.5
22
23
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
24
26
27 (b) (c)
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42
43 Fig. S13: (a) DSC analysis of SMA wire with temperature ramping rate of 10°C/min. (b)-(c)
44 Thermodynamic cycle for shape memory alloys [4]. This analysis helped in finding the maximum
45
46 efficiency material.
47
48 Traditionally, the thermodynamic efficiency of a heat engine is obtained using certain idealized
49 thermodynamic cycles, such as Carnot cycle for the ideal heat engine, Joule cycle for the jet
50 turbine engine, and Clausius-Rankine cycle for the steam electric power plant. The one
51
52
fundamental assumption common in all these conceptual cycles is the thermodynamic
53 reversibility of the processes occurring along the thermodynamic paths in these cycles. In
54 reality, none of the actual thermodynamic processes are completely reversible. In the case of
55
56
SMA, the forward and reverse phase transformations are not reversible. Fig. S13 (a) shows the
57 phase change of SMA material with temperature. We used Maxwell model described by
58 Ziolkowski [3] to formulate the thermodynamic cycle of SMA engine. The thermodynamic cycle
59
60
61
62 37
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1
2
3
4 of SMA engine is based on the Maxwell model shown in Fig. S13. Fig. S13 (b) is stress-strain
5
6 (σ-ε) diagram and Fig. S13 (c) is temperature-entropy (T-s) diagram[4].
7
8 Thermodynamic efficiency of the heat engine can be shown as
9
10 (s8)
11
12
13 Incase and , equation (s8) reduces to
14
15
16 The SMA element temperature rises from T1 to T2 .
17
18 Tension in the wire causes the stress in the element to increase from to .
19
20 Constant specific heat capacity .
21
22 represents change in entropy due to austenite-martensite phase change and denotes
23 specific heat capacity of the austenite phase.
24
25 S10. Numerical validation of experimental results and cost analysis:
26
27 7
28 Experimental efficiency
29 Numerical TEG efficiency (Tc=22°C)
30 6 SMA Harvester efficiency (Tc=27°C)
31
32
33
34
5
Efficiency (%)
35
36
37
4
38 2.0
39
40 3 1.6
Efficiency (%)
41 1.2
42
43 2 0.8
44 0.4
45
46 1 0.0
55 60 65 70 75 80 85
48
49 0
50
51
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
52
54 Fig. S14: Comparison of efficiencies between experimental results (Hao et al.[1]) and simulation
55
results of the thermoelectric device for higher temperature (>100°C). Extrapolated simulated
56
57 efficiency results of thermoelectric device for lower temperatures (<100°C) are compared with
58 experimentally obtained SMA-engine.
59
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61
62 38
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1
2
3
4 Cost comparison with TEG
5
6
7
8 In this section we compared our harvesting method with TEG module[5] which operates
9 in the same temperature range (< 85oC). The bulk cost of this device is around $21. This
10 device produced around 3 mW when there is no external air flow. In our case, the cost of
11 1 m of the SMA wire is around $4.75[6]. Currently we are using ~0.5 m of SMA
12
13
material. Fabrication of metallic and plastic pulley could add $3 per heat engine. Thus,
14 the total cost of laboratory scale heat engine will be ~$6. Our heat engine does not
15 require any additional heat sink or forced cooling mechanism, which ensures its hassle-
16 free operation. With the same temperature range of operation, we could generate around
17 18 mW of power, as compared 3 mW from TEG. Thus, our heat engine generates 6 times
18
19 more power at ~1/3rd of the cost compared to TEG.
20
21
22 S11. Setup for water health monitoring:
23
24
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31
32
33
34
35
36
37
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39
40
41 Fig. S15: Experimental setup of SMA heat engine for real-time water health monitoring. Low-
42 grade waste thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy and subsequently into electrical
43
energy.
44
45
46
For demonstrating the real applications, we coupled the SMA engine with different kind of
47 devices such as water health monitoring sensors. Fig. S15 shows the experimental setup used for
48 water quality monitoring on the hot water pipes. Setup includes SMA wire, hot pipe, Kapton
49
50 flexible heater (OMEGA Engineering), DC supply (KEITHLEY 2230G-30-1), amplifier, two
51 pulleys, NI-DAQ (M/N: 9171), K-type thermocouple (OMEGA Engineering), step up voltage
52
53
regulator (POLOLU), water quality sensor-TDS-3(HM DIGITAL) and 3D slider.
54
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62 39
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4 S12. Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) results on wire for 3 days:
5
6
7 100
8 90 90
0.154
9
80
10
Temperature (°C)
Temperature (°C)
11 70
60
Strain (%)
12 60 0.147
13 50
14 30
40
15 0.140
30
16
1100 1200 1300 1400
17 20
Time(minutes)
18 1000 1200 1400
10
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Time (minutes)
19
20 Time(minutes) 0.156
75
21 70
70 0.154
22
23 65 60
0.152
Stress (MPa)
24
Stress (MPa)
60
Strain (%)
25 50 0.150
26 55
27 0.148
40
28 50
0.146
29 45
30 1000 1200 1400
Time(minutes)
0.144
31 40
32 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 0.142
33 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Time(minutes)
34 Time (minutes)
35
36
37 Fig. S16: DMA tests for evaluating stress and strain of SMA wire for 3 days. Stress and strain
38 was measured under the closed furnace environment of DMA.
39
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4 S13. Brief calculations for carbon foot printing
5
6 If device is mounted directly on pipes
7
8
9
One prototype installed around the circumference of a pipe in vertical position. If we consider
10 the per unit length of pipe, then 1m pipe (if width of device is 5 cm) can easily accommodate 19-
11 20 devices. As demonstrated, 18 mW can be produced with equivalent dimensions by using hot
12
13 water source. Considering the practical operating conditions, it can be safely assumed that 1
14 device of given dimension can produce = 18 mW×0.55 = ~10 mW. Here 0.55 is considered as
15
16
operational factor.
17
18 For 1 m of pipe
19
20 No. of device installed ~20
21
22 In 1 day, the amount of energy produced by 1m of pipe is given by equation s9:
23
24 Energy = Each device power (0.01W) × device (20) × time (24 Hrs.) = 4.8WH (s9)
25
26 where WH=Watt Hours.
27
28 In 3 operating days for which we checked the wire stability under DMA test (Figure S16)), the
29
30 amount of energy produced by 1 m of pipe= 4.8×3 WH=14.4 WH.
31
32 The calculations shown above are for 1m pipe only, but in actual buildings the magnitude of
33 energy generated for 1 day or year will be very high due to availability of long network of pipes.
34
35 If we assume the 500 m of pipe network, then total amount of energy ( E ) for 3 days would be =
36
37 14.4 WH ×500 = 7200 WH =7.2 kWH
38
39 Carbon footprints calculations [7]
40
41 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports the emission factor for
42 calculating the CO2 emission saving ( C ) based on electrical energy. This factor is deduced from
43
44 the AVoided Emission and geneRation Tool (AVERT)
45
46 Emission Factor ( EF ) is given as: 7.07 × 10-4 metric tons CO2/kWh. Therefore,
47
48 C  EF  E (s10)
49
50 The expression s10 gives us the carbon saving value of 5.1 kg.
51
52 Our system (in 3 days) in comparison to the energy sources could reduce 5.1 kg of CO2
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62 41
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1
2
3
4 S14. Long term operation of SMA engine
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 Fig. S17: Long hour of operation of SMA heat engine. Lower pulley shaft rpm is shown for 10
28 hours of operation in lab environment.
29
30 During the heat engine operation, each material point on the wire experiences a cycle of forward
31
and reverse phase transformation within ~1.5 seconds. With this speed, each material point is
32
33 exposed to the hot and cold ambient for approximately 0.0033 and 0.3267 seconds, respectively.
34 By considering the small diameter of the wire (0.44 mm) and moderately low temperature
35 difference between the hot and cold sides, a uniform temperature (and consequently phase
36
37 transformation) distribution in the cross-section can be expected [8, 9]. The observed fatigue
38 resistance of the wires (the wire remains tight and no drop in the efficiency was observed in
39 ~24000 cycles) can be attributed to the uniform distribution of phase transformation in the cross-
40
41 section. The non-uniformity in the phase transformation distribution is one of the main reasons
42 behind initiation and propagation of dislocations, particularly from the grain boundaries in
43 polycrystalline bulk materials [10-12]. The multiple experiments indicated the same efficiency
44
45 and fatigue resistance even for enhanced cycles of operation. Recently, it was reported that by
46 slightly modifying the composition of SMA and modulating phase transition behavior, an
47 extraordinary high fatigue resistance can be obtained [13].
48
49
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1
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3
4 Supplementary References:
5
6
7
[1] Hao F, Qiu P, Tang Y, Bai S, Xing T, Chu H-S, et al. High efficiency Bi 2 Te 3-based
8 materials and devices for thermoelectric power generation between 100 and 300° C. Energy &
9 Environmental Science. 2016;9:3120-7.
10 [2] Tadesse Y, Thayer N, Priya S. Tailoring the response time of shape memory alloy wires
11 through active cooling and pre-stress. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures.
12
13 2010;21:19-40.
14 [3] Ziótkowski A. Theoretical analysis of efficiency of shape memory alloy heat engines (based
15 on constitutive models of pseudoelasticity). Mechanics of materials. 1993;16:365-77.
16 [4] Qian S, Ling J, Hwang Y, Radermacher R, Takeuchi I. Thermodynamics cycle analysis and
17
numerical modeling of thermoelastic cooling systems. International Journal of Refrigeration.
18
19 2015;56:65-80.
20 [5] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/marlow-industries,-inc/EHA-PA1AN1-
21 R03/1681-1087-
22 ND/7537072?WT.srch=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpNPlk_Xk3QIVCFSGCh2dOQH7EAQYAiA
23
24
BEgLFzfD_BwE.
25 [6] http://www.dynalloy.com/flexwire_70_90.php.
26 [7]https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-
27 references.
28 [8] Mirzaeifar R, DesRoches R, Yavari A. Analysis of the rate-dependent coupled thermo-
29
30 mechanical response of shape memory alloy bars and wires in tension. Continuum Mech Therm.
31 2011;23:363-85.
32 [9] Mirzaeifar R, DesRoches R, Yavari A. Is the Stress Distribution Uniform in the Cross
33 Section of Sma Bars Subjected to Uniaxial Loading? Is It Related to Rate Dependency?
34
35
Proceedings of the Asme Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent
36 Systems (Smasis 2011), Vol 1. 2012:281-8.
37 [10] Mirzaeifar R, DesRoches R, Yavari A, Gall K. A micromechanical analysis of the coupled
38 thermomechanical superelastic response of textured and untextured polycrystalline NiTi shape
39 memory alloys. Acta Mater. 2013;61:4542-58.
40
41 [11] Yazdandoost F, Mirzaeifar R. Tilt grain boundaries energy and structure in NiTi alloys.
42 Computational Materials Science. 2017;131:108-19.
43 [12] Yazdandoost F, Mirzaeifar R. Generalized stacking fault energy and dislocation properties
44 in NiTi shape memory alloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds. 2017;709:72-81.
45
[13] Chluba C, Ge W, de Miranda RL, Strobel J, Kienle L, Quandt E, et al. Ultralow-fatigue
46
47 shape memory alloy films. Science. 2015;348:1004-7.
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