Energy Generation from Footsteps Using Piezo-Electric Tiles

Abstract

Piezoelectric generation and Dynamo generation can be used as means of converting waste energy into electrical energy, which can then be processed and used to run various gadgets. An Electric Harvesting Tile has been designed and constructed in this research. Mechanical stress has been applied on a Piezoelectric plate via walking/running. The different configurations of the Piezo-plates determine the electrical output. The configurations used in this study require twenty-four Piezo-plates, configured with four banks in parallel to each other. Each bank consists of six Piezo-plates connected in series. This configuration allows maximum energy to be generated since placing the four banks in parallel increases the current produced. The six Piezo-plates in each bank are configured in series since when piezoelectric plates are connected in series, the internal resistance will increase, and the voltage will be more stable. Using this configuration, a comparison has been made between the weight applied at the center and the external boundaries of the tile. It has been discovered that the voltage, the energy, the power, and the current have been higher for the weight applied at the center of the Tile. This increase can be attributed to the fact that applying force at the center ensures that an even force is applied to all the crystals, thereby producing higher voltage. Force applied to other sections indicates a lower voltage reading because the pressure is not applied to all the Piezo-plates, since their configuration includes four banks in parallel and each one consists of 6 Piezo-plates in series. Therefore, if pressure is not applied to one of Piezo-plates in series then the entire bank is open and no voltage is produced. It has been also discovered that the total voltage stored in the capacitor is the highest with the largest force applied since increasing the force increases the displacement of atoms, resulting in a higher voltage produced. The energy generated has been stored in a rechargeable battery, which has been used to power a mobile device.