Energy harvesting using dielectric elastomers is an upcoming possibility to convert ambient energy into electric energy. So far energy harvesting cycles are known and described, in which the charging and discharging of the polymer is realized during a constant stretch phase. In real applications a continuously changing stretch must be assumed, so that the time frames of the charging- and discharging-intervals have a considerable influence on the amount of harvested energy. The contribution of this paper is related to the calculation of the optimal charging- and discharging-intervals to maximize the energy gain. Therefore the physical model of a lossy generator is investigated to derive the converted energy as a function of the timing of the charging- and discharging-interval. Afterwards the optimization is carried out for the most significant harvesting cycles with constant electric field and constant charge. The achievable energy gain of these optimized harvesting cycles are compared to each other and control laws for the realization of harvesting cycles are quoted.
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ASME 2012 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems
September 19–21, 2012
Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Aerospace Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4510-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Optimization of the Charging Process for Dielectric Elastomer Generators
Christian Graf,
Christian Graf
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
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Thorben Hoffstadt,
Thorben Hoffstadt
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
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Jürgen Maas
Jürgen Maas
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
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Christian Graf
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
Thorben Hoffstadt
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
Jürgen Maas
Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Lemgo, Germany
Paper No:
SMASIS2012-8179, pp. 909-918; 10 pages
Published Online:
July 24, 2013
Citation
Graf, C, Hoffstadt, T, & Maas, J. "Optimization of the Charging Process for Dielectric Elastomer Generators." Proceedings of the ASME 2012 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems. Volume 2: Mechanics and Behavior of Active Materials; Integrated System Design and Implementation; Bio-Inspired Materials and Systems; Energy Harvesting. Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA. September 19–21, 2012. pp. 909-918. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SMASIS2012-8179
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