Date of Award

3-26-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Brett J. Borghetti, PhD.

Abstract

Recent thermal energy harvesting research has advanced alternative non-Seebeck devices and shifted attention towards applications with low temperature differentials near ambient. This research effort takes a simulation-based approach to improve the performance of a modified dual-stage MEMS cantilever energy harvester. The device employs a bimetal and a piezoelectric transducer to harvest energy from a 10° C temperature differential. The proposed application for the device is as a wearable energy harvester, capable of generating power from the human body using skin temperature (average 33° C) as the hot side and ambient air (23° C) as the cold side. A bimetal thickness scaling study is conducted, in which the 1.5 micrometers thickness yields the maximum electrical power output of 36.82 nW per device. This translates to a power density of 5.68 mW/cm2, which surpasses the performance of many Seebeck and non-Seebeck designs from the literature.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENG-MS-15-M-068

DTIC Accession Number

ADA622887

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