The Fluid Transducer: Electricity from Gas and Water
3 November 2008, 10:48
Categories: energy smt-energy-piezoelectric
Many technical systems work with air or water – air compression systems and water pipes are just two examples. Sensors constantly monitor the pressure of such systems to keep losses to a minimum. At present, these sensors are either battery-driven or wired, making it difficult to install sensors in hard-to-reach places. Researchers of the Fraunhofer Technology Development Group TEG have now successfully managed to convert fluidic energy into electricity, enabling the production of energy-autonomous, and thus low-maintenance, sensors.
“Our system is eminently suitable for sensors in pneumatic plants, as we can convert the kinetic energy from air or water into electricity,” explains José Israel Ramirez, who is doing research on this topic at the TEG. “The fluidic energy transducer generates electricity in the microwatt or milliwatt range. This is sufficient to supply cyclically operating sensors with enough energy to read out and transmit the relevant data.”
The fluid-electricity conversion takes place in a fixed housing, through which the medium is fed on a course similar to that of blood circulating in the heart. The Coandă effect causes the constant stream of fluid to oscillate. This produces a periodic pressure fluctuation in the feedback branches, which are coupled to piezoceramics. The piezoceramics convert the fluidic energy into electricity. The new technique can be applied to any system in which a fluid or a gas is guided through a fixed geometry.
Posted by: The Editors
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