A SEMINAR REPORT ON

ENERGY SCAVENGING FOR WIRELESS

SENSOR NODES
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In
ELECRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

Submitted by

VARUN GOPINATH: 08 413 026

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

LOURDES MATHA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY, LOURDES HILLS, KUTTICHAL
KERALA 695 574
AUGUST 2011
LOURDES MATHA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
KUTTICHAL 695 574
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS
ENGINEERING
CERTIFICATE
Certified that seminar work entitled ENERGY SCAVENGING FOR WIRELESS SENSOR
NODES is a bonafide work carried out in the seventh semester by VARUN GOPINATH in partial
fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of Technology in ELECRICAL AND ELECTRONICS
ENGINEERING from University of Kerala during the academic year 20011-2012. who carried out the seminar
work under the guidance and no part of this work has been submitted earlier for the award of any degree.
GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
SREEKALA DEVI , DINU THOMAS ,
Asst: professor,
Department of electrical and Department of electrical and
electronics engineering, electronics engineering,
Lourdes matha college of science Lourdes matha college of science
and technology, and technology,
kuttichal, kerala 695 574 kuttichal, kerala 695 574
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I take immense pleasure in thanking Mrs.DINU THOMAS , Department of electrical and
electronics engineering, LOURDES MATHA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY, our beloved HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT for having permitted me to
carry out this seminar work.
I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to my Guide, Mrs. SREEKALA DEVI,
Asst: professor, LOURDES MATHA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY for her
able guidance and useful suggestions, which helped me in completing the seminar, in time.
Needless to mention that Mrs. SWAPNA . M, Asst:: professor, LOURDES MATHA
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, who had been a source of inspiration and
for her timely guidance in the conduct of my seminar work.
Finally, yet importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my beloved parents
for their blessings, my friends/classmates for their help and wishes for the successful
completion of this seminar.
VARUN GOPINATH
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ABSTRACT
The vast reduction in size and power consumption of CMOS circuitry has led to a large
research effort based around the vision of ubiquitous networks of wireless communication nodes.
As the networks, which are usually designed to run on batteries, increase in number and the
devices decrease in size, the replacement of depleted batteries is not practical. Methods of
scavenging ambient power for use by low power wireless electronic devices have been explored in
an effort to make the wireless nodes and resulting wireless sensor networks indefinitely self-
contained.
Most wireless sensor nodes are powered by primary or secondary (rechargeable) batteries.
These take up a large proportion of the size and weight, and often the cost, of the nodes, and
furthermore the need to replace or recharge them creates a significant maintenance burden.
Maintenance free power provision would greatly increase the feasibility of networks with very
large numbers of, or very widely distributed, nodes. Recently the scavenging of energy from the
environment, in the form of heat, motion, light or other electromagnetic radiation, has been
actively researched as a possible solution to this problem. In this paper the progress and ultimate
potential of such power sources is reviewed, with an emphasis on motion and vibration
scavenging.
The power levels achievable are examined, and applications are considered in which such
sources are attractive to substitute for or supplement batteries. Energy harvesters provide a very
small amount of power for low-energy electronics. While the input fuel to some large-scale
generation costs money (oil, coal, etc.), the energy source for energy harvesters is present as
ambient background and is free. Energy harvesting devices converting ambient energy into
electrical energy have attracted much interest in both the military and commercial sectors . After a
broad comparison of potential energy scavenging methods, the conversion of ambient vibrations to
electricity was chosen as a method for further research.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl.no Contents Page no
1
2
3
4
4.1
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
5
6
7
8
9
10
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM AND POTENTIAL
SOURCES OF POWER
MOTIVATION: WIRELESS SENSOR AND
ACTUATOR NETWORKS
THREE METHODS OF POWERING WIRELESS
SENSOR NETWORKS
IMPROVE THE ENERGY DENSITY OF STORAGE
SYSTEMS.
DEVELOP NOVEL METHODS TO DISTRIBUTE
POWER TO NODES.
DEVELOP TECHNOLOGIES THAT ENABLE A
NODE TO GENERATE OR SCAVENGE ITS
OWN POWER.
ENERGY SCAVENGING METHODS
WIND OR AIR FLOW
PRESSURE VARIATIONS
SOLAR
TEMPERATURE
PASSIVE HUMAN POWER
ACTIVE HUMAN POWER
VIBRATION AND MOTION
ULTIMATE POWER EQUATION
APPLICATION
COMPARISON OF ENERGY SCAVENGING
TECHNOLOGIES.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
4
5
6
8
9
10
10
11
13
14
14
14
15
18
19
19
20
25
31
33
35
37
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3. INTRODUCTION
Wireless sensors are emerging as viable instrumentation techniques for industrial
applications specially in condition monitoring applications. Condition monitoring provides
information on the health and maintenance requirements of industrial machinery and is widely
being adopted as an alternative to the more conventional preventive and breakdown maintenance
strategies. Measurements and monitoring of parameters such as vibration, temperature, noise
level and power consumption could help to detect the trends from developing faults and
determine the sources of problems. This can be used to schedule maintenance effectively to
avoid unnecessary maintenance and catastrophic failures. The selection of right sensors is the
key to effective condition monitoring. At present, most of the sensors are physically wired. The
wires provide both power and communications paths. However, in many applications, wired
sensors are impractical or inconvenient. In these situations, wireless sensor networks could be a
possible solution. These networks can be used in remote locations and also offer inexpensive and
flexible installation. In a very short span of time, wireless sensors have emerged as the sensing
technology of choice in a variety of industry instrumentation techniques because of their
flexibility, non-intrusive operation, safety and their low cost, low power characteristics. Wireless
sensors can be installed inside the mechanical devices, much closer to the phenomena of interest.
Since communication is integrated into the sensor setup, they can be installed on moving parts as
well as static components. Energy harvesters provide a very small amount of power for low-
energy electronics. While the input fuel to some large-scale generation costs money (oil, coal,
etc.), the energy source for energy harvesters is present as ambient background and is free. For
example, temperature gradients exist from the operation of a combustion engine and in urban
areas, there is a large amount of electromagnetic energy in the environment because of radio and
television broadcasting.
Batteries are the primary power supply for current wireless sensor nodes. However, when
the battery is exhausted, the sensor node becomes non-operational till the battery is replaced.
This finite and often limited operational life makes it a burden for plant maintenance. Energy
scavenging for wireless sensors thus becomes more important and has attracted considerable
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research interest in recent years. Glynne-Jones 2001 reviewed a range of self-powered system
which uses vibration power sources, optical power sources, thermoelectric and radio power
sources and so on. He also published the design of vibration powered, electromagnetic miniature
generator in 2003. In 2005, Paradiso published a survey of energy scavenging for mobile and
wireless electronics which introduced various human-powered systems. Several groups of
researchers such as Ottman 2002 and Roundy 2003 have published designs for piezoelectric
generators. These convert ambient vibrations to electrical signals. Leland also published an
energy scavenger constructed from cantilever mount piezoelectric bimorphs and magnets for
household electrical monitoring in 2006.
Energy Scavenging is perhaps the most attractive of the three options because the lifetime
of the node would be limited only by failure of its own components. Energy harvesting is the
process of acquiring energy from the surrounding environment. However, it is also potentially
the most difficult method to exploit because each use environment will have different forms of
ambient energy, and therefore, there is no one solution that will fit all, or even a majority, of
applications. Energy harvesting devices converting ambient energy into electrical energy have
attracted much interest in both the military and commercial sectors. Some systems convert
motion, such as that of ocean waves, into electricity to be used by oceanographic monitoring
sensors for autonomous operation. Future applications may include high power output devices
(or arrays of such devices) deployed at remote locations to serve as reliable power stations for
large systems. Another application is in wearable electronics, where energy harvesting devices
can power or recharge cellphones, mobile computers, radio communication equipment, etc. All
of these devices must be sufficiently robust to endure long-term exposure to hostile environments
and have a broad range of dynamic sensitivity to exploit the entire spectrum of wave motions.
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4. OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM AND POTENTIAL
SOURCES OF POWER
WHAT IS ENERGY SCAVENGING?
C Converting power from ambient sources
C Other terms:
C Parisitic energy
C Energy harvesting
C Microgeneration
C Unlimited self-sustenance
C Power sources already exist
C Running out of power can occur, but can charge itself back up again
WHY WE NEED ENERGY SCAVENGING??
Most of the sensor nodes typically run on batteries, but as the networks increase in
number and devices decrease in size, the replacement of depleted batteries will not be practical.
Another approach is to use a battery large enough to survive the entire lifetime of the
wireless sensor device, but again this will dominate the overall cost and size.
C Currently fed from batteries
C Replacement/rechargeing is difficult
C Too numerous in the future
C Location may be unreachable
C Running out of power can occur
C Sensor size limited by battery size
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4.1 MOTIVATION: WIRELESS SENSOR AND ACTUATOR
NETWORKS
The past several years have seen an increasing interest in the development of Wireless
sensor and actuator networks. Such networks could potentially be used for a Wide variety of
applications. A few possible applications include: monitoring Temperature, light, and the location
of persons in commercial buildings to control the Environment in a more energy efficient manner,
sensing harmful chemical agents in high Traffic areas, monitoring fatigue crack formation on
aircraft, monitoring acceleration and Pressure in automobile tires, etc. Indeed, many experts
foresee that very low power Embedded electronic devices will become a ubiquitous part of our
environment, Performing functions in applications ranging from entertainment to factory
automation (Rabaey et al 2000, Gates 2002, Wang et al 2002, Hitach mu-Chip 2003). Advances in
IC (Integrated Circuit) manufacturing and low power circuit design And networking techniques
(Chandrakasan et al, 1998, Davis et al, 2001) have reduced The total power requirements of a
wireless sensor node to well below 1 milliwatt. Such Nodes would form dense ad-hoc networks
transmitting data from 1 to 10 meters. In fact, For communication distances over 10 meters, the
energy to transmit data rapidly Dominates the system (Rabaey et al 2002). Therefore, the
proposed sensor networks Would operate in a multi-hop fashion replacing large transmission
distances with multiple Low power, low cost nodes. The problem of powering a large number of
nodes in a dense network becomes Critical when one considers the prohibitive cost of wiring
power to them or replacing Batteries. In order for the nodes to be conveniently placed and used
they must be small, Which places severe limits on their lifetime if powered by a battery meant to
last the Entire life of the device. State of the art, non-rechargeable lithium batteries can provide
Up to 800 WH/L (watt hours per liter) or 2880 J/cm3. If an electronic device with a 1 cm3 Battery
were to consume 100 W of power on average (an aggressive goal), the device Could last 8000
hours or 333 days, almost a year. Actually, this is a very optimistic Estimate as the entire capacity
usually cannot be used due to voltage drop. It is worth Mentioning that the sensors and electronics
of a wireless sensor node will be far smaller Than 1 cm3, so, in this case, the battery would
dominate the system volume. Clearly, a Lifetime of 1 year is far from sufficient. The need to
develop alternative methods of Power for wireless sensor and actuator nodes is acute.
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4.2 THREE METHODS OF POWERING WIRELESS SENSOR
NETWORKS
There are three possible ways to address the problem of powering the emerging wireless
technologies:
1. Improve the energy density of storage systems.
2. Develop novel methods to distribute power to nodes.
3. Develop technologies that enable a node to generate or scavenge its own power.
4.2.1 Improve the energy density of storage systems.
Research to increase the storage density of both rechargeable and primary batteries has
been conducted for many years and continues to receive substantial focus. The past few years
have also seen many efforts to miniaturize fuel cells which promise several times the energy
density of batteries. Finally, more recent research efforts are underway to develop miniature heat
engines that promise similar energy densities to fuel cells, but are capable of far higher
maximum power output. While these technologies promise to extend the lifetime of wireless
sensor nodes, they cannot extend their lifetime indefinitely.
PRIMARY BATTERIES:
Energy storage is in the form of electrochemical energy stored in a battery, most
predominant means of power supply. They have a fairly stable voltage, electronic devices can
often be run directly from the battery without any intervening power electronics.Regardless of
the form of the energy storage, the lifetime of the node will be determined by the fixed amount
of energy stored on the device.
Zinc-air batteries, Lithium batteries, and Alkaline batteries are commonly using
primary batteries.
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Zinc-air batteries have the highest energy density, but their lifetime is very short.
Lithium batteries have excellent energy density and longevity, but costly.
Alkaline batteries combination of fair energy density and low cost, but their lifetime
is very short.
SECONDARY BATTERIES:
Rechargeable batteries. They requires another primary power source, to charge them.
One item to consider when using rechargeable batteries is that electronics to control the
charging profile must often be used.
So again it requires looking for alternate power sources.
4.2.2 Develop novel methods to distribute power to nodes.
The most common method (other than wires) of distributing power to embedded
electronics is through the use of RF (Radio Frequency) radiation. Many passive electronic
devices, such as electronic ID tags and smart cards, are powered by a nearby energy rich source
that transmits RF energy to the passive device, which then uses that energy to run its electronics.
However, this method is not practical when considering dense networks of wireless nodes
because an entire space, such as a room, would need to be flooded with RF radiation to power
the nodes. The amount of radiation needed to do this would probably present a health risk and
today exceeds FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulations.
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As an example, the Location and Monitoring Service (LMS) offered by the FCC operates
between 902 and 928 MHz and is used as, but not limited to, a method to automatically identify
vehicles (at a toll plaza for example) (FCC 2002). The amount of power transmitted to a node
assuming no interference is given by Pr = Po2/(4R2) where Po is the transmitted power, is
the wavelength of the signal and R is the distance between transmitter and receiver. If a
maximum distance of 10 meters and the frequency band of the LMS are assumed, then to power
a node consuming 100W, the power transmitter would need to emit 14 watts of RF radiation.
In this band the FCC regulations state that person should not be exposed to more than 0.6
mW/cm2 (FCC 2002). In the case just described, a person 1 meter away from the power
transmitter would be exposed to 0.45 mW/cm2, which is just under federal regulations.
However, this assumes that there are no reflections between the transmitter and receiver. In a
realistic situation, the transmitter would need to far more than 14 watts, which would likely put
people in the vicinity at risk. The FCC also has regulations determining how much power can
be radiated at certain frequencies indoors. For example, the FCC regulation on ceiling mounted
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transmitters in the 2.4 2.4835 GHz band (the unlicensed industrial, scientific, and medical
band) is 1 watt (Evans et al 1996), which given the numbers above is far too low to transmit
power to sensor nodes throughout a room.
Solution works well where there is a high power scanner or other sources in very near
proximity to the wireless device. Less effective in dense regions, where a large area must be
flooded with RF radiation to power many wireless sensor nodes.
Eg: Given a 1 watt transmitter, and a 5 meter maximum distance the power
received at the node would be 50W, which is probably the borderline of being really useful.
4.2.3 Develop technologies that enable a node to generate or scavenge its
own power.
The third method, in which the wireless node generates its own power, has not been
explored as fully as the first two. The idea is that a node would convert ambient sources of
energy in the environment into electricity for use by the electronics. This method has been
dubbed energy scavenging, because the node is scavenging or harvesting unused ambient
energy. Energy scavenging is the most attractive of the three options because the lifetime of the
node would only be limited by failure of its own components. However, it is also potentially the
most difficult method to exploit because each use environment will have different forms of
ambient energy, and therefore, there is no one solution that will fit all, or even a majority, of
applications. Nevertheless, it was decided to pursue research into energy scavenging techniques
because of the attractiveness of completely self-sustaining wireless nodes. The driving force for
energy scavenging is the development of wireless sensor and actuator networks. In particular,
this research aims to develop a small, flexible wireless platform for ubiquitous wireless data
acquisition that minimizes power dissipation. The PicoRadio project researchers have developed
some specifications that affect the exploration of energy scavenging techniques that will be used
by their devices. The most important specifications for the power system are the total size and
average power dissipation of an individual Pico Node (an individual node in the PicoRadio
system is referred to here as a Pico Node). The size of a node must be no larger than 1 cm3, and
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the target average power dissipation of a completed node is 100 W. The power target is
particularly aggressive, and it is likely that several generations of prototypes will be necessary to
achieve this goal. Therefore, the measure of acceptability of an energy scavenging solution will
be its ability to provide 100 W of power in less then 1cm3.
This does not mean that solutions which do not meet this criterion are not worthy of
further exploration, but simply that they will not meet the needs of the PicoRadio project. Thus,
the primary metric for evaluating power sources used in this research is power per volume,
specifically W/cm3, with a target of at least 100 W/cm3.
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5. ENERGY SCAVENGING METHODS
5.1 WIND / AIR FLOW
Wind power has been used on a large scale as a power source for centuries. Large windmills
are still common today.
However there has not been any successful effort so far to generate power using this at very
small scale.
Large scale windmills operate at maximum efficiencies of about 40%. Efficiency is
dependent on wind velocity, and average operating efficiencies are usually about 20%.
Windmills are generally designed such that maximum efficiency occurs at wind velocities
around 8 m/s (or about 18 mph). At low air velocity, efficiency can be significantly lower than
20%.
As there are many possible applications in which a fairly constant air flow of a few meters
per second exists, it seems that research leading to the development of devices to convert
air flow to electrical power at small scales is warranted.
5.2 PRESSURE VARIATIONS
Variations in pressure can be used to generate power..
Atmospheric pressure varies throughout the day. The change in energy for a fixed volume of
ideal gas due to a change in pressure.
An average temperature variation over a 24 hour period would be about 10 C.
If 1cm3 of helium gas were used, a 10 C temperature variation would result in a pressure
change of 1.4 MPa. The corresponding change in energy would be 1.4 J per day, which
corresponds to 17 W/cm3.
While this is a simplistic analysis and assumes 100% conversion efficiency to electricity, it
does give an idea of what might be theoretically expected from naturally occurring pressure
variations.
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5.3 SOLAR ENERGY
Solar energy is abundant outdoors during the daytime. In direct sunlight at midday, the
power density of solar radiation on the earths surface is roughly 100 mW/cm3.
Silicon solar cells are a mature technology with efficiencies of single crystal silicon
cells ranging from 12% to 25%. Thin film polycrystalline, and amorphous silicon solar cells are
also commercially available and cost less than single crystal silicon, but also have lower
efficiency. As seen in the table, the power available falls off by a factor of about 100 on overcast
days. However, if the target application is outdoors and needs to operate primarily during the
daytime, solar cells offer an excellent and technologically mature solution. Available solar
power indoors, however, is drastically lower than that available outdoors. Measurements taken
in normal office lighting show that only several W/cm3 can be converted by a solar cell, which
is not nearly enough for the target application under consideration.
Table below shows power from a cadmium telluride solar cell at various distances from
a 60Watt incandescent bulb under standard office lighting conditions.The data clearly show that
if the target application is close to a light source, then there is sufficient energy to power a Pico
Node, however in ambient office lighting there is not. Furthermore, the power density falls off
roughly as 1/d2 as would be expected, where d is the distance from the light source.


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Crystalline Silicon:
Best efficiency: 15% - 20%
Outdoor use only.
Most expensive
Polycrystalline Silicon:
Efficiency: 10 - 13%
Outdoor use only.
Thin Film:
Efficiency: 8% - 10%
Good Indoor and Outdoor applications.
Cheapest

On a sunny day, the incident light on earths surface has a power density of roughly
100mW/cm3.
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Single crystal silicon solar cells exhibit efficiencies of 15-20%.
Common office lighting provides 100 W/cm2 at the surface of the desk.
Thin film amorphous silicon or cadmium telluride cells better efficiency indoors, still they
offer only 10% efficiency.
Solar cells are generally used to charge a secondary battery. They can be directly connected to
rechargeable batteries through a simple series diode to prevent the battery from discharging
through the solar cell.
For longer lifetime of rechargeable batteries, a controlled charging profile will be needed but it
will require more electronics which will use power themselves.
136 mW/cm2 is average light power on a sunny summer day.
Photovoltaic [PV] energy harvesting wireless technology offers significant advantages over
wired or solely battery-powered sensor solutions: virtually inexhaustible sources of power with
little or no adverse environmental effects. Indoor PV harvesting solutions have to date been
powered by specially tuned amorphous silicon (aSi)a technology most used in Solar
Calculators. In recent years new PV technologies have come to the forefront in Energy
Harvesting such as Dye Sensitized Solar Cells DSSC. The dyes absorbs light much like
chlorophyll does in plants. Electrons released on impact escape to the layer of TiO2 and from
there diffuse, through the electrolyte, as the dye can be tuned to the visible spectrum much
higher power can be produced. At 200 lux DSSC can provide over 15 micro watts per cm2.
Example:
Q. Inside, there is currently 1 mW/ square cm of light incident... How much power can we
get out of that with a 1 cm x 1cm cell?
A: Assume we are using a thin-film PV in order to match best with indoor light. Using a 9%
efficiency, we can get 0.09x1 = 90uW.
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5.4 TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS
Naturally occurring temperature variations can also provide a means by which energy
can be scavenged from the environment. Stordeur and Stark (Strodeur and Stark, 1997) have
demonstrated a thermoelectric micro-device capable of converting 15 W/cm3 from a 10 C
temperature gradient. While this is promising and, with the 9 improvement of thermoelectrics,
could eventually result in more than 15 W/cm3, situations in which there is a static 10 C
temperature difference within 1 cm3 are very rare. Alternatively, the natural temperature
variation over a 24 hour period might be used to generate electricity. It can be shown with fairly
simple calculations, assuming an average variation of 7 C, that an enclosed volume containing
an ideal gas could generate an average of 10 W/cm3. This, however, assumes no losses in the
conversion of the power to electricity. In fact some commercially available clocks, such as the
Atmos clock, operate on a similar principle. The Atmos clock includes a sealed volume of fluid
that undergoes a phase change right around 21 C. As the liquid turns to gas during a normal
days temperature variation, the pressure increases actuating a spring that winds the clock.
While this is very interesting, the level of power output is still substantially lower than other
possible methods.
Naturally occurring temperature variations can also provide a means by which energy
can be scavenged from the environment.
Maximum efficiency of power conversion is given by Carnot efficiency.
= (Thigh Tlow )/Thigh
Many researchers are using thermoelectric generators that exploit the Seebeck effect to
generate power.
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5.5 PASSIVE HUMAN POWER
A significant amount of work has been done on the possibility of scavenging power off
the human body for use by wearable electronic devices (Starner 1996, Shenck and Paradiso
2001). The conclusion of studies undertaken at MIT suggests that the most energy rich and
most easily exploitable source occurs at the foot during heel strike and in the bending of the
ball of the foot. This research has led to the development of the piezoelectric shoe inserts
referred to in the table. The power density available from the shoe inserts meets the constraints
of the current project. However, wearable computing and communication devices are not the
focus of this project. Furthermore, the problem of how to get the energy from a persons foot
to other places on the body has not been satisfactorily solved. For an RFID tag or other
wireless device worn on the shoe, the 10 piezoelectric shoe inserts offer a good solution.
However, the application space for such devices is extremely limited, and as mentioned, not
very applicable to wireless sensor networks.
5.6 ACTIVE HUMAN POWER
The type of human powered systems investigated at MIT could be referred to as passive
human powered systems in that the power is scavenged during common activities rather than
requiring the user to perform a specific activity to generate power. Human powered systems
of this second type, which require the user to perform a specific power generating motion, are
common and may be referred to separately as active human powered systems. Examples
include standard flashlights that are powered by squeezing a lever and the Free play wind-up
radios (Economist 1999). Active human powered devices, however, are not very applicable
for wireless sensor applications.
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5.7 VIBRATIONS
A combination of theory and experiment shows that about 300 W/cm3 could be
generated from vibrations that might be found in certain building environments. Vibrations
were measured on many surfaces inside buildings, and the resulting spectra used to calculate
the amount of power that could be generated. However, without discussing the details at this
point, it does appear that conversion of vibrations to electricity can be sufficient for the target
application in certain indoor environments. Some research has been done on scavenging power
from vibrations, however, it tends to be very focused on a single application or technology.
Therefore, a more broad look at the issue is warranted.
Vibration-to-electricity conversion offers the potential for wireless sensor nodes to be
self sustaining in many environments.
Low level vibrations occur in many environments including large commercial
buildings, automobiles, aircraft, ships, trains, and industrial environments.
Table below shows sources of vibrations and its effect produced:
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A few representative vibration spectra are shown in Figure 2.1. In all cases, vibrations
were measured with a standard piezoelectric accelerometer.
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EXISTING METHODS FOR VIBRATION ENERGY
SCAVENGING
1) ELECTROMAGNETIC (INDUCTIVE) POWER CONVERSION:
Electromagnetic power conversion results from the relative motion of an electrical
conductor in a magnetic field. Typically the conductor is wound in a coil to make an
inductor. The relative motion between the coil and magnetic field cause a current to flow
in the coil.

There are a couple of significant strengths to electromagnetic implementation.
First, no separate voltage source is needed to get the process started as in electrostatic
conversion. Second, the system can be easily designed without the necessity of
mechanical contact between any parts, which improves reliability and reduces
mechanical damping. In theory, this type of converter could be designed to have very
little mechanical damping.
But is difficult to integrate this type of device with standard
microelectronics. For one thing, a strong magnet has to be manually attached to the
device. Additionally, just how much this magnet and its motion would affect electronics
in extremely close proximity is an open question.
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2) ELECTROSTATIC (CAPACITIVE) POWER CONVERSION:
Electrostatic generation consists of two conductors separated by a dielectric (i.e. a
capacitor), which move relative to one another. As the conductors move the energy
stored in the capacitor changes, thus providing the mechanism for mechanical to
electrical energy conversion. Change in capacitance causes either voltage or charge increase.

The primary disadvantage of electrostatic converters is that they require a separate
voltage source to initiate the conversion process because the capacitor must be charged
up to an initial voltage for the conversion process to start. Another disadvantage is that
for many design configurations mechanical limit stops must be included to ensure that the
capacitor electrodes do not come into contact and short the circuit. The resulting
mechanical contact could cause reliability problems as well as increase the amount of
mechanical damping.
This type of harvesting is based on the changing capacitance of vibration-dependent varactors.
Vibrations separate the plates of an initially charged varactor (variable capacitor), and
mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. An example of a electrostatic energy
harvester with embedded energy storage is the M2E Power Kinetic Battery. Another example
is CSIROs Flexible Integrated Energy Device (FIED)[23] Yet another example is the Tremont
Electric nPower PEG.[24] Finally, there is the Regenerative shock absorber.
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3) PIEZOELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION:
Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain materials to produce a voltage when subjected to
mechanical stress.Piezoelectric materials are materials that physically deform in the presence
of an electric field, or conversely, produce an electrical charge when mechanically deformed.
This effect is due to the spontaneous separation of charge within certain crystal structures
under the right conditions producing an electric dipole. At the present time, polycrystalline
ceramic is the most common piezoelectric material. Polycrystalline
ceramic is composed of randomly oriented minute crystallites. Each crystallite is further
divided into tiny domains, or regions having similar dipole arrangements. Initially the
polar domains are oriented randomly, resulting in a lack of macroscopic piezoelectric
behavior.

Strain in piezoelectric material causes a charge separation (voltage across capacitor).
If a voltage is applied in the same direction as the dipoles (the direction of the poling (electric
field), the material elongates in that direction. The opposite effect is also present, specifically if
a mechanical strain is produced in the direction of the dipoles, a charge separation across the
material (which is a dielectric) occurs, producing a voltage.The use of piezoelectric materials
to harvest power has already become popular. Piezoelectric materials have the ability to
transform mechanical strain energy into electrical charge. Piezo elements are being embedded
in walkwaysto recover the people energy of footsteps. They can also be embedded in shoes
to recover walking energy.
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L
o
a
d V
s
C
R
s
Piezoelectric
generator
25
MOTION:
Mechanical motion is another energy source which has attracted considerable attention. Such
motion sources generally fall into two clear classes low frequency, high amplitude motion
such as human body motion, and high frequency, low amplitude motion such as machine
vibration. In the first category, the motion amplitudes are typically on the order of or greater
than the desired device dimensions, while in the latter the reverse is generally true.
6.ULTIMATE POWER LIMITS:
The extraction of energy from motion may be by direct application of force to the
mechanism, such as foot strike in a shoe mounted device. More common, and more universally
applicable, are the inertial mechanisms. In these, the generator need only be attached to the
moving host at a single point, as illustrated in Fig. 1.
A proof mass is suspended within the generator such that internal motion is induced
when the device frame moves along with the host; electrical power is then generated by a
transduction mechanism which acts to damp this internal motion. Most devices described in the
literature consider the case of linear internal motion driven by linear source motion. However,
devices with rotating masses also exist, particularly for the generation of power in wrist
watches.
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26
The power levels theoretically achievable from linear inertial scavengers are limited by
four parameters: the proof mass and range of internal travel range of the device, m and Z, and
the amplitude and frequency of the source motion, Yo and (assuming harmonic source
motion). The maximum frame acceleration for harmonic motion is simply Yo; unless the
damping force per unit mass is below this level, the proof mass will move together with the
frame, so there will be no relative motion and thus no work done against the damper. This
places an upper limit on the force of m2Yo, and thus on the energy per transit of :
Umax = m YoZ (1)
It is worth noting that this maximum requires use of the full internal travel range,
whereas for high frequency sources this may be significantly greater than the excitation
amplitude of the source. In these cases, resonant oscillation of the proof mass on its suspension
is typically used to obtain the required internal amplitude. For low frequency, high amplitude
sources, on the other hand, non-resonant devices can be exploited, and these have the
significant advantage of operating effectively over a wide range of source frequency without
requiring active tuning. If energy is extracted in both directions of travel, then the maximum
power is simply twice Umax divided by the period 2/, giving:
P max = m YoZ/ (2)
Consequently, since mass is proportional to volume and maximum displacement to
linear dimension, maximum power scales as linear dimension to the fourth power, or as
Volume4/3. Thus power density reduces as device size decreases, obviously an undesirable
feature for miniaturization. Furthermore, the very strong dependence on frequency means that
for the low frequency group of applications, such as body-mounted sensors, the power density
is poor.
Although (2) gives the level of maximum power for harmonic excitation, it is derived
using the assumption that the damping force per unit mass can approach the maximum external
acceleration throughout the motion cycle. This, however, also implies that the mass makes
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2

2
3
each internal transit in negligible time, since the peak external acceleration is by definition only
present instantaneously. If we require the internal motion also to be harmonic, the maximum
power is reduced by a factor of /4.
Pmax = m Yo Z /4 (3)
If we do not require harmonic internal motion, we can allow the proof mass to make
each internal transit in less than half a cycle (resting at either end between transits). This allows
a larger force closer to the maximum peak value m2Yo to be employed, and brings the
achievable power closer to that of (2). The possible improvement is greater for cases where
Yo >> Zl. As stated above, inertial scavengers may also use rotating masses. Typically these
are unbalanced (e.g. semi-circular) so that they may be driven by linear motion. In an analysis
is presented which shows that the power limit of such a device, for a semi-circular proof mass
m of radius R, is given by:
Pmax = 0.27m YoR (4)
This is nearly identical to (4), except with the proof mass radius taking the place of the
internal travel range Zl. Thus the choice between a linear and a rotating internal mass is likely
to be based on practical considerations, such as ease of manufacture, cost or reliability, rather
than ultimate power limit.
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3
3
GENERIC VIBRATION-TO-ELECTRICITY CONVERSION
MODEL
One can formulate a general model for the conversion of the kinetic energy of a vibrating mass
to electrical power based on linear system theory without specifying the mechanism by which
the conversion takes place. This model is described by equation 2.1
.
Figure 2.4: Schematic of generic vibration converter
where:
z = spring deflection
y = input displacement
m = mass
be = electrically induced damping coefficient
bm = mechanical damping coefficient
k = spring constant
The term be represents an electrically induced damping coefficient. The primary idea behind
this model is that the conversion of energy from the oscillating mass to electricity (whatever
the mechanism is that does this) looks like a linear damper to the mass spring system.
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29
y m kz z b z b z m
e m
+ + +
The power output is proportional to the square of the acceleration magnitude of the driving
vibrations.
Power is proportional to the proof mass of the converter, which means that scaling down the
size of the converter drastically reduces potential for power conversion.
The equivalent electrically induced damping ratio is designable, and the power output is
optimized when it is equal to the mechanical damping ratio.
For a given acceleration input, power output is inversely proportional to frequency. (This
assumes that the magnitude of displacement is achievable since as frequency goes down, the
displacement of the proof mass will increase.)
Finally, it is critical that the natural frequency of the conversion device closely
matches the fundamental vibration frequency of the driving vibrations.
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2
2
2
3
3
2
2 1
1
]
1

,
_

+
1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

n
T
n
n
e
Y m
P

2
2 3
4
T
e
Y m
P

e m T
+
2
2
4
T
e
A m
P

Power in terms of magnitude and

frequency of input.
Power assuming =
n
.
Power in terms of acceleration magnitude.
= Electro kinetic potential
30
OUTPUT WAVEFORM
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7.APPLICATION
BIOMECHANICAL
ENERGY HARVESTERS:
The main application of energy scavenging
from vibarion is biomechanical harvester.
Vibrations are vastly available energy soure
and also it is creatable. Biomechanical
energy harvesters are also being created.
One current model is the
biomechanical energy harvester of Max
Donelan which straps around the knee.
Devices as this allow the generation of 2.5
watts of power per knee. This is
enough to power some 5 cell phones.

AERODYNAMIC EFFECT:
Micro wind turbine are used to harvest wind energy readily available in the environment in the
form of kinetic energy to power the low power electronic devices such as wireless sensor
nodes. When air flows across the blades of the turbine, a net pressure difference is developed
between the wind speeds above and below the blades. This will result in a lift force generated
which in turn rotate the blades. This is known as the aerodynamic effect.

WIRELESS CORROSION MONITORING SYSTEMS:
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vibrating structure
frequency
A
c
c
e
l
.

P
S
D
mechanical energy
32
Electroactive polymers (EAPs) have been proposed for harvesting energy. These polymers
have a large strain, elastic energy density, and high energy conversion efficiency. The total
weight of systems based on EAPs is proposed to be significantly lower than those based on
piezoelectric materials.
Nanogenerators, such as the one made by Georgia Tech, could provide a new way for
powering devices without batteries. As of 2008, it only generates some dozen nanowatts,
which is too low for any practical application.
Noise harvesting NiPS Laboratory in Italy has recently proposed to harvest wide spectrum low
scale vibrations via a nonlinear dynamical mechanism that can improve harvester efficiency up
to a factor 4 compared to traditional linear harvesters.
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Self-powered Wireless Corrosion Sensor
corrosion sensor energy harvester
33
low power
wireless transceiver
8. Comparison of Energy Scavenging Technologies:
A broad survey of potential energy scavenging methods has been taken. The results of
this survey are shown in Table 1.1. The table also includes batteries and other energy storage
technologies for comparison. The upper two rows of the table contains energy storage
technologies in which, because they contain a fixed amount of energy, the power available to
the node decreases with increased lifetime. The lower half of the table contains pure power
scavenging sources and thus the amount of power available is not a function of the lifetime of
the device. As is the case with all power values reported in this thesis, power is normalized per
cubic centimeter to conform to the constraints. The values in the table are derived from a
combination of published studies, experiments performed by the author, theory, and
information that is commonly available in data sheets and textbooks. While this comparison is
by no means exhaustive, it does provide a broad cross section of potential methods to scavenge
energy and energy storage systems. Other potential sources were also considered but deemed
to be outside of the application space under consideration or to be unacceptable for some other
reason.
As we have seen some sources are
fundamentally characterized by
energy density (such as batteries)
while others or characterized by
power density (such as solar cells) a
direct comparison with a single
metric is difficult.
Furthermore, a battery that is large
enough to last the lifetime of the
device would dominate the overall system size and cost, and thus is not very attractive.
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CONTINUOUS POWER VS LIFETIME CONTINUOUS POWER VS LIFETIME
A brief explanation and evaluation of each source listed in Table 1.1 follows.
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Continuous Power / cm
3
vs. Life Several Energy Sources
0
1
10
100
1000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Years
m
i
c
r
o
W
a
t
t
s
Lithium
Alkaline
Lithium rechargeable
Zinc air
NiMH
Solar
Vibrations
35
9. CONCLUSION
Justification for focus on vibrations as a power source:
Power systems represent perhaps the most challenging technological hurdle yet to
be overcome in the widespread deployment of wireless sensor networks. While there is still
much research to be done improving radio systems for wireless sensor networks, the
technology to accomplish a wireless sensor network is currently available. However, even with
the aggressive power consumption target of 100 W/node, current battery technology cannot
even provide 1 year of autonomous operation per 1cm3 of size. Although the energy density of
batteries is improving with time, it is doing so very slowly compared to the improvement in
size and power consumption of CMOS electronics. Wireless systems have traditionally been
designed to use a battery as their power source. However, if ubiquitous wireless sensor
networks are to become a reality, clearly there alternative power sources need to be employed.
Numerous potential sources for power scavenging exist. Light is routinely used as a power
source using photovoltaic cells. Smart cards and RF ID tags, to which power is radiated by an
energy rich reader, are also common. Myriads of other sources ranging from thermal gradients
to imbalanced AC electric fields may also be imagined. It should be stated clearly that there is
no single energy scavenging solution that will provide power in all potential applications.
Solutions need to be tailored both to the demands of the application and to the environment in
which the system will be used. Based on vibrations measured in many environments,
preliminary calculations showed that power densities on the order of 100 W/cm3 are feasible
from commonly occurring vibrations.
This number compares well with other potential energy scavenging sources. For
example, in common indoor lighted environments, the power density available from
photovoltaic cells is only about 10 W/cm2. Likewise, thermoelectric devices can produce
about 10 W of power from a 10 C temperature differential. Furthermore, vibrations as a
power source for stand-alone wireless electronics have received very little research effort. It is
believed that the research project reported herein provides an attractive power source for many
environments in which low level vibrations are commonly found, and significantly contributes
to the development of potentially infinite life power systems for wireless sensor nodes.
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Three types of vibration to electricity converters have been considered:
electromagnetic, electrostatic, and piezoelectric. After a preliminary investigation, only
piezoelectric and electrostatic were pursued in detail. Both types of converters have been
modeled, designed, and fabricated. While solar cell based power systems have also been
developed for the target wireless sensor nodes, this has been more of a development and
benchmarking effort than a research effort.
Summary of conclusions:
Almost all wireless sensor nodes are presently powered by batteries. This situation
presents a substantial roadblock to the widespread deployment of wireless sensor
networks because the replacement of batteries is cost prohibitive.
We have looked at a wide variety of such sources. It can be concluded that no single
alternative power source will solve the problem for all, or even a large majority of
cases.
Both solar powered and vibration powered systems are being actively pursued and will
be up and running shortly.
Both solar power and vibration based energy scavenging look promising as methods to
scavenge power from the environment. In many cases, perhaps most cases, they are not
overlapping solutions because if solar energy is present, it is likely that vibrations are not, and
vice versa. It was, therefore, decided to pursue both solar and vibration based solutions for the
sensor nodes under development. Solar cells are a mature technology, and one that has been
profitably implemented many times in the past. So, while solar power based solutions have
been developed, the main focus of the research and development effort has been vibration
based power generators.
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[2] Joseph A. Paradiso, Thad Starner. Energy Scavenging for Mobile and Wireless
Electronics, IEEE Pervasive Computing, 4(1): 18-27,2005.
[3] Geffrey K. Ottman, Heath F. Hofmann, Archin C. Bhatt,George A. Lesieutre.
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[6] N. S. Shenck and J. A. Paradiso, "Energy scavenging with shoe-mounted
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[7] E. M. Yeatman, "Advances In Power Sources For Wireless Sensor Nodes,"
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[8] E. S. Leland, E. M. Lai, and P. K. Wright, "A Self-Powered Wireless Sensor for
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[14] Y. Ammar et al. TIMA Lab Grenoble EUSAI conference
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