Generating Electricity From Walking Steps An Solar Jacket/Cap

ABSTRACT

But power generation conventional resources are now not enough for total demand of electrical energy. Therefore many researchers and engineers are working on non conventional ways of electrical power generation. This work is on generation of electricity using piezoelectric sensor and solar energy. This device is designed to convert foot step, walking and running energy and energy from the sun into electrical energy. This is a non conventional electrical and renewable method of energy production system. It converts mechanical energy of footsteps and energy from the sun into electrical energy by using transducers and adjustable solar panel which is the aim of the project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM OF THE PROJECT
• BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT
• PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
• OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
• SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
• LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
• APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
• SOLAR-POWERED CLOTHING (CAP)
• USER ACCEPTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY
• FUNCTIONAL, EXPRESSIVE, AESTHETIC (FEA) NEEDS OF SOLAR CAP
• ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
• AGE COHORTS IN SOLAR CAP
• EVOLUTION OF PIEZOELECTRIC SENSOR
• PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS
• PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
• DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES
• PIEZOELCTRIC CONSTITUTIVE EQUATION

CHAPTER THREE

3.0          METHODOLOGY

• A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTER
• RESEARCH DESIGN
• MATERIALS USED FOR PIEZOELECTRIC
• BLOCK DIAGRAM
• WORKING PRINCIPLE
• MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR SOLAR CAP
• CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
• USB CONNECTION AND CONFIGURATION

CHAPTER FOUR

• RESULT ANALYSIS
• CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING
• CASING AND PACKAGING
• MOUNTING PROCEDURE
• RESULT ANALYSIS
• SELECTION OF SOLARCELL
• TEST
• MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• RECOMMENDATION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1                                               BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There are many conventional methods of energy generation but these are depleting very vastly hence non-conventional energy system are very essential at this time and age we are now. Therefore, alternate methods of non-conventional energy are proposed in this project using piezoelectric sensor and solar energy.

These energies are not based on the burning of fossil fuel or splitting of atoms. The renewed interest in this field of study comes from the undesired effect of pollution both from burning of fossils fuels and from nuclear waste byproduct.

The non-conventional energy using foot step is converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, with the aid of a ‘‘piezoelectric sensor’’. When humans are walking, jumping or dancing on a surface which contains the piezoelectric sensors, it then will produce sufficient force due to their weights for energy generation process. This energy generated can be stored in batteries also for numerous future  purposes. (Miss. Mathane Nitashree V., 2015)

A piezoelectric sensor broadly speaking is an electric device which is used to measure acceleration, pressure, or force to convert them to an electrical signal.  Piezoelectric materials exhibit the unique property known as piezoelectric effect.

Piezoelectric effect is the effect in which mechanical vibrations, pressure or strain applied to piezoelectric material is converted into electrical form. This project gives idea about how energy is used while stepping on stairs. The use of stairs in every building is increasing day by day even small building has some floors. When climbing stairs, some amount of this wasted energy is utilized and converted to electricity by piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectric effect is the effect of specific materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress.

When these materials are subjected to a compressive stress, an electric field is generated across the material, creating a voltage gradient and a subsequent current flow.

The main concept of this project is capturing unused energy from surrounding systems and converting it into electrical energy. The piezoelectric sensors placed under insulating material like hard rubber and pressure created by foot step and water fall pressure will produce electrical energy which can be stored and used for domestic purpose. The property of Piezoelectric Material is to generate electricity when we apply pressure. It has two axes, mechanical axis and electrical axis When we apply pressure in mechanical axis, it generates power in its electrical axis. Piezo means the generation of the electrical polarization of a material as a response to mechanical strain.

These sensors are mainly used for process control, quality assurance, research and development in various industries. The applications of this sensor involve aerospace, medical, nuclear instrumentation, and as a pressure sensor it is used in the touch pad of mobile phones. In the automotive industry, these sensors are used to monitor ignition when developing burning engines. The application areas of this project also involve public areas like temples, streets, metros, railway stations, bus stations, malls, etc. Then, this system may generate voltage on each and every step of a foot.

The sensor used in this work is made of piezo ceramic material Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), which belongs to the group of ferroelectric materials. It is circular in shape which fits comfortably into the sole of the footwear and it is commercially available at low cost.

One disadvantage of the piezoelectric sensor is that they cannot be used for truly static measurements. A static force results in a fixed amount of charge on the piezoelectric material. However, it is not true that piezoelectric sensor can only be used for very fast processes or at ambient conditions. In fact, numerous piezoelectric applications produce quasi-static measurements.

Piezoelectric sensors can also be used to determine aromas in the air by simultaneously measuring resonance and capacitance. Computer controlled electronics vastly increase the range of potential applications for piezoelectric sensors (Wali, 2012).

Solar-powered clothing, within a context of wearable technology, is an innovative product still in its introductory stage (Macguire, 2011). Wearable technology is a blanket term for electronics that can be worn on the body, either as an accessory or as part of material used in clothing. The concept of smart clothing has been initiated from the idea of the wearable computer, actually a portable rather than wearable device, from the 1980s. In the late 1990s, collaboration with professionals in the areas of electronic engineering, and clothing and textiles rapidly increased. Prototypes were developed that concentrated on consumer-oriented design (Rantanen, Alfthan, Impio, Karinsalo, Malmivaara, Matala, &Vanhala, 2000) and smart clothing is now being developed for everyday life (G. Cho & Cho, 2007).

Currently, researchers of wearable technology have shifted their primary interests to solar-powered cap that can create renewable and wearable energy sources from solar cells (Suh, et al., 2010). Among the alternative energy sources (e.g. wind, waves), and due to the increased concern about dependence on oil and coal, the sun became the greatest potential, because it can directly generate electrical energy with the aid of solar cells (Mather & Wilson, 2006). Since a solar cell produces electricity directly from sunlight, it is also called a photovoltaic cell, meaning “light electricity;” in this term, the word “photo” means “light” and the word “voltaic,” originating from the name of an electrical engineer, Alessandro Volta, means electricity (Cho, 2010, p.250). Solar-powered clothing uses the solar cell as an alternative energy source to generate electricity. Thus, integration of photovoltaic materials into clothing can provide power for portable electronic devices and opens a wealth of opportunities for technology-based fashion.

Solar-powered cap gained popularity from researchers and industry due to its functionality and pro-environmental attributes, since it uses a solar cell as an alternative energy source to generate electricity. Solar energy is “the first long-term energy source for human beings,” and one of the most potentially important sources of energy recognized by present scientists (Jeon& Cho, 2010, p. 251). Since the major problem of wearable electronics is the necessity to rely on conventional power supplies (e.g., batteries) which are usually physically heavy and have a short lifetime (Jeon& Cho, 2010), solar-powered energy sources that are flexible and light can be incorporated into clothing without being a burden to the wearer. Thus, most solar-powered clothing offers a universal socket for portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones and mp3 players, ultimately a solution to the constant problem of encountering limited battery life.

Specifically, mobile phone usage has become an integral part of digital activity among consumers of all ages. Mobile subscribers increased from 5.4 billion in 2010 and to 6.8 billion in 2012, and users have expressed numerous complaints about limited battery life when using mobile phones (International Telecommunication Union, 2013). To better serve consumers, researchers working from a multidisciplinary approach, including the disciplines of computer science, engineering, and design, have actively dealt with textile development, commercialization possibilities, and product development (Jeon& Cho, 2010; Schubert & Werner, 2006; Zou, Wang, Chu, Lv, & Fan, 2010).

1.2                                               PROBLEM STATEMENT

Today, the world is facing a number of problems. The world is coming closer to technology at high rate and with such high speed, energy is consuming. The conventional energy sources which are now available with us are slowly diminishing. A purpose of manufacturing this “electricity from walking step and solar cap” is to encourage the idea of energy conservation by shifting focus on renewable energy source.

Also energy efficiency, the number of battery-operated mobile devices is increasing rapidly. The common issue for most of them is the need to recharge the batteries using power taken from power grid or other source of electrical power. The amounts of voltage gotten from these sources are relatively high causing overheating and some devices to explode or catch fire. The electricity from walking step and solar cap will be able to perform the same actions using much less voltage.

1.3                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT

The overall goal of this project is to successfully design and implement a non-conventional way of generating dc power using a piezoelectric sensor, which would have an output voltage of 5volts which can charge phone batteries.

1.4                                               BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT

The benefits of designing and implementing this system are:

1. It is cheap and easy to access, inexhaustible, pollution free and renewable source of energy device.
2. It can charge more than one phone battery.
3. It should be a welcome idea, which is a way of developing the country.

1.5                                              PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The purpose of this project is to develop much cleaner, cost effective way of power generation, which in turns helps to bring down the global warming, reducing the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants making the environment more serene for living as well as to reduce power shortages.

1.6                                            OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The objectives are as follows:

1. To provide a non-conventional way of power generation.
2. To ease continuity in human services.

• To set the output voltage of the circuit to be 5volts.
• The provision of a USB port for the charger output supply.

1. To incorporate flexible solar panels and micro components to the solar cap

• To evaluate the voltage and current from the solar cap

1.7                                                 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The project was designed to produce an output voltage of 5volts to charge a battery which in turn can be used to charge portable devices like phones. The scope of this project was kept concise and simple in other not to introduce unnecessary complexities and render it generally uncomfortable. There are no complex peripheral devices attached to the project due to reasons of affordability of the materials and also accessibility of the materials.

1.8                                          LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

It is of important significance to know that the project is limited to an output of 5volts and cannot be used in place where there is lots of human traffic like bus-stops, stadiums, railway stations. Etc. the location of this project is limited to an office or a room. Solely for the purpose of storing electrical charges in a battery due to pressure sensed by it, when humans step on it to charge portable electrical devices.

1.9                                       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In a world where over 90% of the population is in constant need of personal electronic devices [2] such as phones, tablets, ipads etc for business or for pleasure, a technology such as the solar cap will be efficient. For example, the battery of a mobile device when low can be charged with the solar cap. This will enable constant power on the mobile device so as not to miss out on important communication or information. Be it an important business meeting or call, or even the latest news on a blog or news section. The solar cap can be used for uninterrupted power supply.

The piezoelectricity and solar energy can also be applicable for health monitoring devices. Even when it’s a rainy day or there is a low solar visibility from the sun, the stored energy in the rechargeable battery will serve as an alternative power source until there is availability of solar power.

This is to bring greater convenience to daily lives, especially in the current digital age when people are nearly inseparable from their devices. Also in third world countries like Nigeria where electricity has a very epileptic nature, people with very busy or important schedules would love to have their mobile devices handy. Therefore, the cap would be able to provide charging on the go and prevent from missing out on important calls due to low battery

1.10                                          APPLICATION OF THE STUDY

This device is used by travelers, sports, military to supply enough electrical powers to [Internet of Things] devices such as sensors, or maybe iPhone or smartphone systems to supply charge to the smart devices.”

1.11                                                      PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied,  chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.