send detail of foot step press electric power generator
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Hi Ravi,
I just ran thro this interesting article....thought it might give you an idea....so posting here....all the best...
'Crowd Farm' Converts Footsteps into Electricity
Two MIT students have found the next new source of energy: you.
A new technology developed by the graduate students would take the energy generated by human movement, such as walking or jumping, in crowded settings and turn it into electricity.
The so-called "Crowd Farm" would work something like this: A responsive sub-flooring system would be placed under, say, the platform of a subway terminal. The blocks that make up the system would depress slightly under the force of human footsteps. As the blocks slipped against each other, they would generate power in the form of an electric current.
That electric current could be used, among other things, to light up signs about the energy created by the pedestrians, the creators say.
"We want people to understand the direct relationship between their movement and the energy produced," said co-creator Thaddeus Jusczyk.
While the Crowd Farm wouldn't work in the home (a single human step generates only enough power to light two 60-watt light bulbs for one second), it could really draw some power from a crowd producing thousands of steps. Some 28,527 steps, for example, could power an entire moving train for a second.
The Crowd Farm could also be used to harness the head-bashing energy at a rock concert.
"Greater movement of people could make the music louder," said Jusczyk.
The students' creation was presented at the Holcim Foundation's Sustainable Construction competition earlier this year, where it took first place.
Regards,
Karthik
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Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
The piezoelectric effect converts mechanical strain into electrical current or voltage. This strain can come from many different sources. Human motion, low-frequency seismic vibrations, and acoustic noise are everyday examples. Except in rare instances the piezoelectric effect operates in AC requiring time-varying inputs at mechanical resonance to be efficient.
Most piezoelectric electricity sources produce power on the order of milliwatts, too small for system application, but enough for hand-held devices such as some commercially-available self-winding wristwatches. One proposal is that they are used for micro-scale devices, such as in a device harvesting micro-hydraulic energy. In this device, the flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid drives a reciprocating piston supported by three piezoelectric elements which convert the pressure fluctuations into an alternating current.
As piezo energy harvesting has been investigated only since the late '90s, it remains an emerging technology. Nevertheless some interesting improvements were done with the selfpowered electronic switch at INSA school of engineering, implemented by the spin-off Arveni. In 2006, the proof of concept of batteryless wireless doorbell push button was done, and recently, a demonstrator show that classical TV infra-red remote control can be powered by piezo harvester.
Piezoelectric systems can convert motion from the human body into electrical power. DARPA has funded efforts to harness energy from leg and arm motion, shoe impacts, and blood pressure for low level power to implantable or wearable sensors. The nanobrushes of Dr. Zhong Lin Wang are another example of a piezoelectric energy harvester. They can be integrated into clothing. Careful design is needed to minimise user discomfort. These energy harvesting sources by association have an impact on the body. the Vibration Energy Scavenging Project is another project that is set up to try to scavenge electrical energy from environmental vibrations and movements.
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 walkways to recover the "people energy" of footsteps. They can also be embedded in shoes to recover "walking energy".
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hey nice topic man.....read an interesting doc on Piezoelectric Energy Sources and circuit....
Download Piezoelectric Energy Sources and Circuit
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I want to know how this Piezoelectric energy is tapped and used as a power source?
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Hi Prabha...go thro this explanation and you would understand....wherever there is lot of foot traffic, say in pathways, gym, disco's etc we could convert the energy to power.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
The exponential growth of the "alternative energy" industry in the last few years shows great promise in regards to the energy independence of the United States. For awhile now, the energy responsible for our success has been provided by fossil fuels; petroleum, natural gas, coal, etc. But we all realize that these are finite resources and the energy source that will power our future success lies elsewhere. The future of sustainable, clean power lies in other, more abstract opportunities. Wind, of course, is a viable option. Solar, indeed, will also play a part. Tidal Wave is yet another viable method. Geothermal is particularly appealing due to its simplicity: basically stick a pipe in the ground, and you're done. Well, there's more to it but you get my drift. My favorite that I've been reading about lately is called Piezoelectric energy harvesting.
What is it?
So generally Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting is based upon the piezoelectric effect. Yeah, I know. Real ground breaking stuff. The essence of the piezoelectric effect works as follows: by applying a mechanical stress to a crystal, one can generate a voltage or potential energy difference, and thus a current. Also by applying a current to a piezoelectric one can stress or strain the material. The mechanical stress can be supplied by any source. But with so many people walking around from place to place, why not harness that kinetic energy to power stuff, right?
How Is This Energy Harnessed?
So with the basic idea layed out, how can this phenomenon be but to use in generating electricity. A lot of ways. One highly viable option is to lay piezoelectric crystal arrays underneath sidewalks, stairwells, and pretty much any other high traffic area to power street lights or whatever else you care to plug in. The armed forces toyed with the idea of putting piezoelectric materials in soldiers boots to power radios and other portable electronic gear. This turned out to be not feasible with current technology at the present time due to the extra weight and discomfort of the setup, but it may be possible later on. Several nightclubs, mostly in Europe have already begun to power their strobes and stereos using the force of hundreds of people pounding on piezoelectric lined dancefloors. Several gyms, notable in Portland and a few other places are powered by a comination of piezoelectric set ups and generators set up on stationary bikes. We're really just looking at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the uses of human kinetic energy of people in motion to create energy.
More To Come
Every week some new discovery concerning uses of piezoelectric energy is uncovered. Even though the idea has been around for awhile, in microphones, amplifiers, and other applications, electricity production in this area is in its infancy. One cool idea concerns piezoelectric nanowires embedded in clothing to create energy.
A Final Word On Energy Harvesting
In the near future, the lights at your favorite coffee shop or the stereo system at your local bar could very well be powered by foot traffic. If we want to maintain a certain lifestyle in an increasingly competitive, resource strapped world, we need to think outside the box when it comes to energy production. There are a million sources of clean, environmentally conscious power all around us, we just have to explore and utilize these sources in the most effecient manner possible. Ambient energy capture will no doubt play a large part in the future of renewable energy, and there's no time like the present to work on developing new, innovative means of electricity generation. I feel confident in saying that the world of tommorow looks pretty bright, both literally and figuratively.
- Source from Hubpages
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hey a very clear explanation....thanks ChennaiRockz....i ve becom fond of this topic now....
I would like to share this too....this is still under research....but a innovative thought....
"A human energy harvesting and storage system that captures energy from various human activities and stores that energy on a vehicle to be used for various vehicle applications. In one embodiment, piezoelectric devices, or other types of energy generating devices, are provided in the seat of the vehicle that generate electricity from the weight and movement of a person sitting in the seat that is collected by a suitable electrical storage device. The electrical storage device provides power to a power port in the vehicle so that various devices can be plugged into the power port to be operated. In alternate embodiments, the energy is collected outside of the vehicle by human activity, and the storage device is brought into the vehicle to be plugged into the power port."
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Also got a ppt on PIEZOELECTRIC ENERGY HARVESTING FOR SUPPLYING POWER TO REMOTE INSTALLATION....attaching the same...anyone working on this topic pls let me know....would luv 2 get more info....
Download PIEZOELECTRIC ENERGY HARVESTING Presentation
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Hey man....soooooo many posts by then  .....
How abt this.....Piezoelectric energy harvesting for powering low power electronics....
Although wireless data transmission techniques are commonly used in electronic devices, they still suffer from wires for the power supply or from batteries which require charging, replacement and other maintenance. The vision for the portable electronics and industrial measurement systems of the future is that they are intelligent and independent on their energy supply. The major obstacle in this path is the energy source which enables all other functions and “smartness” of the systems as the computing power is also restricted by the available energy. The development of long-life energy harvesters would reduce the need for batteries and wires thus enabling cost-effective and environment friendlier solutions for various applications such as autonomous wireless sensor networks, powering of portable electronics and other maintenance-free systems.
Download PDF on Piezoelectric energy harvesting for powering low power electronics
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