JSS Mahavidhyapeetha

JSS SCIENCE AND TEHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

SRI JAYACHAMARAJENDRA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

MYSURU – 570006

Synopsis
on
“Footstep Power Generation Using Piezoelectricity”

Submitted for fulfillment of Requirements of Assignment (Event 2) of

Engineering Physics – II (PH210)

Submitted By-

ROLL No. NAME USN

24 Mohammed Ezhan 01JST19CS082

Department Of Physics
6. F ferences
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1. Introduction
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2. Literature Review
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3. Theory o
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4. Report e

5. Conclusion 7. R
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CONTENTS Page No.

1. Introduction

Dielectric Material: It is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. When
a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the material as they do in
an electrical conductor but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions causing dielectric
polarization. Because of dielectric polarization, positive charges are displaced in the direction of the
field and negative charges shift in the opposite direction. This creates an internal electric field that
reduces the overall field within the dielectric itself. If a dielectric is composed of weakly bonded
molecules, those molecules not only become polarized, but also reorient so that their symmetry axes
align to the field
An important property of a dielectric is its ability to support an electrostatic field while dissipating
minimal energy in the form of heat. The lower the dielectric loss (the proportion of energy lost as heat),
the more effective is a dielectric material. Another consideration is the dielectric constant, the extent to
which a substance concentrates the electrostatic lines of flux. Substances with a low dielectric constant
include a perfect vacuum, dry air, and most pure, dry gases such as helium and nitrogen. Materials with
moderate dielectric constants include ceramics, distilled water, paper, mica, polyethene, and glass.
Metal oxides, in general, have high dielectric constants.

Dielectric materials can be used in capacitors for energy storage. It is used in photosensitive materials
for charge storage in laser printers and copying machines. Due to all the aforementioned properties,
dielectrics have a wide spectrum of applications they find themselves in. Mechanical actuation,
piezoelectricity, sound generation and capacitive sensing are some most of the most notable industrial
applications of dielectrics, of which Piezoelectricity is the most fascinating application.

Piezoelectricity:
Piezoelectricity was discovered in 1880 by Pierre and Paul-Jacques Curie, who found that when they
compressed certain types of crystals including quartz, tourmaline, and Rochelle salt, along certain axes,
a voltage was produced on the surface of the crystal. This effect is known as piezoelectric effect.
A piezoelectric crystal consists of multiple interlocking domains which have positive and negative
charges. These domains are symmetrical within the crystal lattice, causing the lattice as a whole to be
electrically neutral. When stress is put on the crystal, the symmetry is slightly broken, generating
voltage. In a large dimension piezoelectric sensor, even a tiny bit of piezoelectric crystal can generate
voltages in the thousands.

Piezoelectricity is a form of electricity created when certain crystals are bent or otherwise deformed.
These same crystals can also be made to bend slightly when a small current is run through them,
encouraging their use in instruments for which great degrees of mechanical control are necessary.

Piezoelectric: A material that develops voltage upon the application of a stress and develops strain
when an electric field is applied.
In the direct piezoelectric effect (a), applied stress causes a voltage to appear. In the converse effect (b),
an applied voltage leads to development of strain.

A piezoelectric sensor is a device that converts pressure directly into electricity by the polarization
effect. Piezo is derived from the Greek word piezein, “to squeeze.” Piezoelectric materials produce a
voltage when strained. Assemblies of metals, ceramic (SiO) and lead zirconate titanate. Piezoelectricity
is the field of technology that involves the application of piezoelectric sensors in producing electricity
for practical use.

The orthodox methods of power generation are on the verge of diminishment. Methods such as
Piezoelectricity have the temerity to be the panacea of all problems, minimizing pollution levels and
encouraging sustainable development in an eco-friendly manner.

Today, besides power generation, piezoelectricity is being used to light up street lamps. There is also a
hot shower mechanism that has piezoelectric nano-tubes installed in the lining of the tube. Due to water
pressure, the sensor is used to generate electricity to heat up the water.

Piezoelectric sensors can be installed in the soles of shoes or on the circumference of car tire which
eliminates the problem of finding the required space for piezoelectric sensor installation. Another
advantage of piezoelectric is the cost. Initially, during installation, the cost may be high but in the long
term a large sum can be saved. Directly, we can reduce the dependency of the humans on the natural
resources as the main form of fuel. This would in a way conserve the Mother Nature.
2. Literature Review

Applications of piezoelectric materials have expanded into many fields since the discovery of the effect
by the Curie brothers in 1880-1881.One of the earliest practical applications of piezoelectric materials
was the development of the first SONAR system in 1917 by Langevin who used quartz to transmit and
receive ultrasonic waves. In 1921, Cady first proposed the use of quartz to control the resonant
frequency of oscillators. Today, piezoelectric sensors (e.g., force, pressure, acceleration) and actuators
(e.g., ultrasonic, micro positioning) are widely available. Lead-Zirconate – Titanate (PZT) ceramics,
which were discovered in 1954 and replaced barium titanate ceramics in all fields of piezoelectric
applications, became the material dominating the world market until today. The same properties that
make these materials useful for sensors can also be utilized to generate electricity. Such materials are
capable of converting the mechanical energy of compression into electrical energy.
Mechanical stresses applied to piezoelectric materials distort internal dipole moments and generate
electrical potentials (voltages) indirect proportion to the applied forces. The same crystalline materials
also lengthen or shorten in direct proportion to the magnitude and polarity of applied electric fields.
Because of these properties, these materials have long been used as sensors and actuators.

In recent times, vibration based energy harvesting has drawn attention of many researchers worldwide.
This is due to advancement in Micro electromechanical (MEM) devices and wireless sensors with power
requirements in range of microwatts-mill watts; hence vibration energy sources have promising
potentials for such demands. With the increase in energy consumption due to ever growing number of
electronic devices, the concept of harvesting renewable energy in human surrounding arouses a renewed
interest.

In the last decade, beam with piezo ceramic patches have been used as a method to harvest energy.

The energy harvester system consists of unimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam with a tip mass. It
generates electric current or voltage from the piezoelectric strain effect due to base excitation.Piezoel-
ectric materials can be used as mechanisms to transfer mechanical energy, into electrical energy that
can be stored and used to power other devices. With the recent advances in wireless and MEMS
technology, sensors can be placed in exotic and remote locations.

3. Theory

Abstract: A Power Generating Slab can be designed and constructed which can be used to generate
power by establishing anywhere of the walking zone of human (roads, stairs, pavements, dais etc). This
is done in a low cost process with locally available equipments (micro-generator, iron plate, rack pinion
gear, free-wheeling system, spring etc). These slabs can easily sustain human weight when people walk
along them. With a small deformation of spring, the weight (mechanical energy) of a human body is
converted into electrical energy by rotating a micro-generator with the help of a ‘rotating shaft’ coupled
with it. From each foot step almost 10V-12V is generated. This energy is stored in a rechargeable
battery which can be used as a power source to drive loads. Assembly of some power generating slabs
can give better result. This is a method which is reusable and it will run for a longer period.
In the proposed system, the piezoelectric material converts the pressure applied to it into electrical
energy. The source of pressure is either the weight of the moving vehicles or the weight of the people
walking over it. AC ripple filter is used to filter out any further fluctuations in the output. The output
DC voltage is stored in a rechargeable battery.

As the power output from a single piezofilm is low, combination of few piezo films can be used. Two

possible connections are used - parallel and series connections. The parallel connection does not show
significant increase in the voltage output. However, in series connection, additional piezo-film results
in increased voltage output.

The block diagram for the proposed system is shown in the below figure.

Description of Block Diagram:

3.1 Piezoelectric Sensors
The piezoelectric transducers work on the principle of piezoelectric effect to measure changes
in displacement, force, pressure, strain and acceleration converting them to electric charge. The
effect is reversible when the voltage is applied to them, they tend to change the dimensions of the
Piezoelectric material. It has been successfully used in various applications, such as in medical,
aerospace, nuclear instrumentation, and as a pressure sensor in the touch pads of mobile phones. In the
automotive industry, piezoelectric elements are used to monitor combustion when developing internal
combustion engines.

3.2 Boost Converter

DC-DC Boost Converter is used to convert the DC voltage from low level voltage to high level voltage.
This works like a step up transformer to improve the DC voltage level. The Boost
converter consists of inductance and capacitance to step up the voltage level in the circuit. The
MOSFET switch is used in this converter.

3.3 Inverter
An inverter is a device that change or converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC)
output. The output is usually 230v at 50 cycle alternating current to match line power. Inverter converts
the DC to AC for the load.

3.4 Voltage Regulator

A regulator power supply is very much essential for several electronic devices due to
semiconductor material employed in them. They have a fixed rate of current as well as voltage. ICs
regulator is mainly used in circuit to maintain the exact voltage which is followed by power supply

3.5 Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC)

The Peripheral Interface Controller or Programmable Intelligent Controller microcontroller
that is used in the proposed work is PIC16F877A. The PIC microcontroller’s instruction set
architecture is 16 bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC).It consists of an inbuilt ADC,
USART which are mainly used in this project. ADC is used for the conversion of analog output of
sensors to digital and USART for serial asynchronous communication.
3.6 Rectifier
The Rectifier is a device used to change or convert the Alternating current (AC) to Direct
current (DC) output. The rectifier circuit consists of diodes for rectification, it is classified as two
types namely
Full wave rectification
Half wave rectification.
The piezoelectric sensor produces variable DC output while applying pressure on it, the
variable DC output is converted as pure DC by using rectifier to store the energy in battery.

3.7 Step Down Transformer

The step down transformer is used to convert the high level voltage into low level voltage. In
this circuit it is used to convert the high level voltage into low level voltage. In this circuit it is used
to give the power supply for the microcontroller and the Driver circuits.

Construction-
In this simple symbolic circuit, the piezoelectric material converts the pressure applied to it into
electrical energy. The source of pressure can be either from the weight of the moving vehicles or from
the weight of the people walking over it. The output of the piezoelectric material is not a steady one.
So a bridge circuit is used to convert this variable voltage into a linear one. Again an AC ripple filter is
used to filter out any further fluctuations in the output. The output dc voltage is then stored in a
rechargeable battery. The battery provisions are provided to connect to the DC load. An inverter is
connected to battery to provide provision to connect AC load. The voltage produced across the tile can
be seen in a LCD. For this purpose, microcontroller PIC16F877A is used. The microcontroller uses a
crystal oscillator for its operation. The output of the microcontroller is then given to the LCD which
then displays the voltage levels.

Working-

When a single piezoelectric sensor is stressed it produces the variable AC voltage, which is converted
into pure DC voltage by using rectifier. The pure DC voltage is stored in battery with the unidirectional
current controller to prevent back flow of current to sensors. The DC-DC boost
converter is used to improve the voltage. It steps up the voltage and it is connected to inverter. The
inverter is used to change or convert the Direct current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) output with
the load connected to it. The Driver circuit is used to turn on MOSFET by giving the gate pulse. The
PIC is used to control the voltage and to give digital signal for LCD display which is connected to the
PIC for displaying the output voltage. The pulses are programmed in the PIC controller.

The piezoelectric material that is used is PZT (Lead Zirconate titanate), it produces 1.5V and 5mA in
each single sensor. For instance, we can use about 3-4 sensors which produce minimum
amount of energy (92.5 micro Joules) in single step of average weighted person approximately 60kg.
The piezoelectric sensor produces maximum energy for future power generation by using an array
arrangement. The unidirectional current controller diode (1N4007) prevents the back flow of current to
the sensors from battery.

Figure 2. DC-DC Boost circuit

The dc supply is passed to the dc-dc boost converter which contains inductance and Capacitance. it
improve the voltage by charge storing on the inductor and capacitor. The voltage is stepped up and it
passed to the inverter. the boost converter consists of two MOSFET switch. The switch turns on and it
stores the energy in the inductance, further the other MOSFET switch is turned on and stores the energy
in capacitance. The total stepped up voltage is occurred on the boost converter. The inverter is used to
convert dc directing current to ac. The inverter consist of four MOSFETS , turned on by using driver
circuit and has power supply from the voltage regulator. The microcontroller PIC16F877A with
interfacing of the LCD display 16x2 is used. Also, the driver circuit is used since the PIC has minimum
voltage to give the gate pulse for MOSFETS in H-bridge inverter. The load is connected to the inverter,
from where the generated power can be utilized.

Figure 3. LCD interface with the PIC16F877A

With the high amount of piezoelectric sensors with array arrangement in Railway platform, street,
temple etc. it will produce maximum power generation per day. Piezoelectric flooring is a technology
with a wide range of applications that is slowly being adopted in the race to develop alternative energy
sources.

4. Result
Since 2009, Pavegun- the firm undertaking the project on a global scale, has already completed more than
150 projects around the world. To create energy, the system uses the concept of piezoelectricity– as the tile
is pushed down from a person’s weight, energy-storing flywheels spin to convert kinetic energy into
electrical energy. That energy can then be used to power nearby lights and appliances.

Simulation Results:

The circuit with controller and boost converter was simulated in MATLAB software and the
outputs are viewed.

Waveform of current and time from PIC Waveform of voltage and time from
converter output
 Waveform for inverter final output

Advantages of generating power using Piezoelectricity:

 Sustainable development is the need of the hour today and utilization of energy from human resource is
the best alternative to the hazardous fossil fuels.
 Piezoelectric materials can operate at any temperature conditions.
 They have low carbon footprint making them the best alternative for fossil fuel.
 Characteristics of these materials make them the best energy harvesters.
 Unused energy lost in the form of vibrations can be tapped to generate green energy.
 These materials can be reused.

In this project we are generating power by walking or running. Power can be generated by walking on the
stairs. The generated power will be stored and then we can use it for domestic purpose. This system can be
installed at homes, schools, colleges, where the people move around the clock. When people walk on the
steps or that of platform, power is generated by using weight of person. The control mechanism carries
piezoelectric sensor, this mechanical energy applied on the crystal into electrical energy. When there is
some vibrations, stress or straining force exert by foot on flat platform. It can be used for charging devices
such as laptop, mobile, etc. The generated power is first applied to booster and output from piezoelectric is
increased and given to the battery through unidirectional current controller and ac ripple neutralizer. Output
from battery is used for various applications using inverter to convert DC into AC.

Real life applications of Piezoelectric materials-

 In Japan’s train stations the concept of “crowd farm” was tested where the footsteps of the pedestrians’
on the piezoelectric tiles embedded on the road can generate electricity.

 In 2008 a nightclub in London builds first eco-friendly floor made up of piezoelectric material that can
generate electricity to power up light bulbs when people dance on it.

 Piezoelectric effect finds useful application as mechanical frequency filters, surface acoustic wave
devices, bulk acoustic wave devices, etc.

 Used extensively in Sound and ultrasound microphones and speakers, ultrasonic imaging, hydrophones.

5. Conclusion

As the old adage “Necessity is the mother of invention,” our necessity for a hustle free, low carbon footprint
energy harvesting device has brought piezoelectric materials into the limelight at the right moment. With the
fossil fuels dwindling, the use of modern technologies such as piezoelectricity should be the need of the
hour today. Only then is sustainable development possible, thus becoming the torchbearers of the new
generation, heralding new horizons by dragging everybody out of these dark times for which we all are
collectively responsible.

6. Future Scope

Utilization of wasted energy is very much relevant and important for highly populated countries right now
and in the immediate future. Japan has already started experimenting the use of piezoelectric effect for
energy generation. They have implemented the piezoelectric effect on the stairs of the bus. Thus every time
a passenger steps on the tiles; they trigger a small vibration that can be stored as energy. Piezoelectric
flooring is a technology with a wide range of applications that is slowly being adopted in the race to develop
alternative energy sources. After all, human power is readily available in pretty much any area with heavy
foot traffic, such as a dance floor, or tourist attractions. The flooring tiles are made up of rubber which can
absorb the vibration. This vibration generates power while people are running or walking on it. When the
movement is felt by the material it generates the electricity. This generated energy is simultaneously stored
into the battery. We can use the generated electricity for the lightning of lamp or a street light.
However, the scope for improvement in the field of piezoelectricity is abundant. Scientists and Research
scholars around the world are continuously working to improve the details.

 Sealed tiles may be necessary to prevent debris or water from entering.

 Doubling the height of the piezoelectric stack will double the performance of the tile, so maximizing the
amount of piezoelectric material per unit area is critical.

 Selective absorption should be made use of to prevent these devices from picking up unwanted
vibrations.
 Resistance and Durability should minimize limits to devices when used to tap energy from pavements
and roads.
 The mismatch between stiffness of piezoelectric material and pavement material should be avoided to
ensure smooth transition.
 Less known details of these devices and the amount of research done till date is not sufficient to exploit
full usage of these devices; which should encourage the youth to dive deep into the realms of
piezoelectricity for complete exploitation of available resources.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Footstep Power Generation using Piezoelectricity,” can be implemented for many applications in urban as
well as in rural areas where power availability is less or totally absent. As India is a developing country
where energy management is a big challenge for a huge chunk of population, we can drive both A.C. as well
as D.C loads according to the force we apply on the piezoelectric sensor. This method can prove to be an
efficient power generation method in highly populated countries as it reduces power demand without
pollution, thereby maximizing power output while minimizing the damage done to the environment.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. References

[1]^Joydev Ghosh,Supratim Sen,Amit Saha Samir Basak.(2013)" Electrical power generation using foot
step for urban area energy applications" IEEE International Conference on Advances in Computing,
Communications and Informatics (ICACCI), Aug. 2013
[2] Piezoelectric effect.
http://seminarprojects.com/Thread-project-on-piezoelectric-car#ixzz2QoCxRi2y
[3]^Rajesh Kumar Datta, Sazid Rahman,(2014). "Power Generating Slabs: Lost energy conversion of
human locomotive force into electrical energy" IEEE 8th International Conference on Electrical and
Computer Engineering , Dec. 2014.
[4]^ M. N Fakhzan,Asan G. A,Muthalif(2013)."Vibration based energy harvesting using piezoelectric
material"4th International Conference on Mechatronics (ICOM), May 2011.
[5] What is piezoelectricity?
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-piezoelectricity.htm
[6] ^Atharva College of Engineering, Mumbai, India,(2013).”Piezoelectric crystals: future source of
electricity” International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology, Volume 2 Issue 4, April 2013.
[7] ^Henry A. Sodano, Daniel J. Inman, Gyuhae Park(2004). ”Estimation of Electric Charge Output for
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting” Strain Journal, 40(2), 49-58, 2004.
[8] Uses of Piezoelectric sensor. 2012.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071212185616AAEAZMV
[9]^Engel TG (2000) Energy conversion and high power pulse production using Miniature piezoelectric
compressors. IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci 28: 1338-1340.
[10]^Hugo Schmidt V (1992) Piezoelectric energy conversion in windmills pinprick. Ultrasonics Symp 897-
904.