Researchers from India have created a simple wind turbine made of a flexible polymer sheet with piezoelectric elements.
In their work, scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai attached a flexible plate with a piezoelectric sheet to the outside of a cylinder that was blown by air. The wind made the plate to fly like a flag.
At low wind speeds, the plate made weak forced oscillations. However, an increase in the air flow rate demonstrated high-amplitude, periodic vibrations that significantly increased the deformation of the piezoelectric material and electricity generation.
According to the researchers, previous similar developments allowed to generate only a few microwatts of power at a similar wind speed. By adjusting the thickness, length, and flexibility of the plate, as well as precisely selecting the electrical resistance of the circuit, the researchers managed to increase the output power by 2-3 times.
To test the effectiveness of their device in practice, the researchers built a circuit rectifier and storage and demonstrated that the generated energy is enough to power up to 20 LEDs. According to them, the accumulated charge is enough even for short-term power supply of up to 40 LEDs.
The scientists emphasize that the results prove the potential of their wind turbine for use in autonomous low-power devices, such as environmental monitoring sensors or wireless communication nodes in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Nevertheless, important challenges remain, especially in increasing energy conversion efficiency and optimizing the design for practical use.
«Unlike traditional turbines, such generators have no rotating parts, require minimal maintenance, and can be easily integrated into urban or natural environments. As the world looks for smarter, more compact, and greener ways to generate energy, this flutter-driven generator can simply harness the tailwind», — the researchers note.
Solar generators on a cocrystal showed a record efficiency of 67% and 375% higher performance
The results of the study are published in the journal Physics of Fluids
Source: TechXplore
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