A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Seto, Kelsey C
Other Authors: Sang-Gook Kim.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98764
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author Seto, Kelsey C
author2 Sang-Gook Kim.
author_facet Sang-Gook Kim.
Seto, Kelsey C
author_sort Seto, Kelsey C
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description Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015.
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spelling mit-1721.1/987642019-04-11T14:11:53Z A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions Seto, Kelsey C Sang-Gook Kim. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-52). This thesis studies two different methods of harvesting electrical energy from everyday activities such as walking and running. It is a design study that aims to create a device which can be attached or incorporated into a shoe, ideally a military boot, so that soldiers can charge back-up batteries for their devices while out in the field. The goal was to create a device that could achieve a peak energy harvesting power output on the order of 0.1 Watts. The original concept for the device involved the use of macro piezoelectric fiber harvesters which harness strain energy from the sole of the shoe as it naturally bends and flexes throughout daily activity. Strain testing indicated the the maximum peak power output that could be expected from these actuators was on the order of 10- 4W to 10- 3 W, and testing of the harvesters themselves yielded peak power values on the order of 10 7W to 10-6W. These low power values turned the design study away from the use of piezoelectrics and a design incorporating a miniature air turbine coupled with an electromagnetic generator was introduced. Initial testing on this proof of concept device yielded peak power values on the order of 10- 4W to 10- 3W with much room for improvement. It was concluded that this sort of device would be more effective for harvesting energy from the shoes, and future iterations of the initial prototype were proposed. by Kelsey C. Seto. S.B. 2015-09-17T19:10:33Z 2015-09-17T19:10:33Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98764 920901948 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 52 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Seto, Kelsey C
A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title_full A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title_fullStr A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title_full_unstemmed A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title_short A design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
title_sort design study to harvest electrical energy from walking and running motions
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98764
work_keys_str_mv AT setokelseyc adesignstudytoharvestelectricalenergyfromwalkingandrunningmotions
AT setokelseyc designstudytoharvestelectricalenergyfromwalkingandrunningmotions