A comprehensive review on modal parameter-based damage identification methods for beam- or plate-type structures is presented, and the damage identification algorithms in terms of signal processing...

Vibration-based Damage Identification Methods: A Review and Comparative Study:

A number of materials have been explored for their use as artificial muscles Among these, dielectric elastomers (DEs) appear to provide the best combination of properties for true muscle-like actuation DEs behave as compliant capacitors, expanding in area and shrinking in thickness when a voltage is applied Materials combining very high energy densities, strains, and efficiencies have been known for some time To date, however, the widespread adoption of DEs has been hindered by premature breakdown and the requirement for high voltages and bulky support frames Recent advances seem poised to remove these restrictions and allow for the production of highly reliable, high-performance transducers for artificial muscle applications

Advances in dielectric elastomers for actuators and artificial muscles.

Energy harvesting technologies have been explored by researchers for more than two decades as an alternative to conventional power sources (e.g. batteries) for small-sized and low-power electronic devices. The limited life-time and necessity for periodic recharging or replacement of batteries has been a consistent issue in portable, remote, and implantable devices. Ambient energy can usually be found in the form of solar energy, thermal energy, and vibration energy. Amongst these energy sources, vibration energy presents a persistent presence in nature and manmade structures. Various materials and transduction mechanisms have the ability to convert vibratory energy to useful electrical energy, such as piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic generators. Piezoelectric transducers, with their inherent electromechanical coupling and high power density compared to electromagnetic and electrostatic transducers, have been widely explored to generate power from vibration energy sources. A topical review of piezoelectric energy harvesting methods was carried out and published in this journal by the authors in 2007. Since 2007, countless researchers have introduced novel materials, transduction mechanisms, electrical circuits, and analytical models to improve various aspects of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices. Additionally, many researchers have also reported novel applications of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology in the past decade. While the body of literature in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting has grown significantly since 2007, this paper presents an update to the authors' previous review paper by summarizing the notable developments in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting through the past decade.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-665X/ab36e4/pdf

A review of energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials: state-of-the-art a decade later (2008–2018)

The cholesteric-liquid-crystalline structure, which concerns the organization of chromatin, collagen, chitin, or cellulose, is omnipresent in living matter. In technology, it is found in temperature and pressure sensors, supertwisted nematic liquid crystal displays, optical filters, reflective devices, or cosmetics. A cholesteric liquid crystal reflects light because of its helical structure. The reflection is selective - the bandwidth is limited to a few tens of nanometers and the reflectance is equal to at most 50% for unpolarized incident light, which is a consequence of the polarization-selectivity rule. These limits must be exceeded for innovative applications like polarizer-free reflective displays, broadband polarizers, optical data storage media, polarization-independent devices, stealth technologies, or smart switchable reflective windows to control solar light and heat. Novel cholesteric-liquid-crystalline architectures with the related fabrication procedures must therefore be developed. This article reviews solutions found in living matter and laboratories to broaden the bandwidth around a central reflection wavelength, do without the polarization-selectivity rule and go beyond the reflectance limit.

/pdf/cholesteric-liquid-crystals-with-a-broad-light-reflection-43guc7ek7l.pdf

Cholesteric Liquid Crystals with a Broad Light Reflection Band

A 125 μm thickness, rollable, paper-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been developed for harvesting sound wave energy, which is capable of delivering a maximum power density of 121 mW/m(2) and 968 W/m(3) under a sound pressure of 117 dBSPL. The TENG is designed in the contact-separation mode using membranes that have rationally designed holes at one side. The TENG can be implemented onto a commercial cell phone for acoustic energy harvesting from human talking; the electricity generated can be used to charge a capacitor at a rate of 0.144 V/s. Additionally, owing to the superior advantages of a broad working bandwidth, thin structure, and flexibility, a self-powered microphone for sound recording with rolled structure is demonstrated for all-sound recording without an angular dependence. The concept and design presented in this work can be extensively applied to a variety of other circumstances for either energy-harvesting or sensing purposes, for example, wearable and flexible electronics, military surveillance, jet engine noise reduction, low-cost implantable human ear, and wireless technology applications.

Ultrathin, Rollable, Paper-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Acoustic Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Sound Recording

This paper presents the development of an acoustic energy harvester using the sonic crystal and the piezoelectric material. A point defect is created by removing a rod from a perfect sonic crystal. The point defect in the sonic crystal acts as a resonant cavity, and the acoustic waves at the resonant frequency of the cavity can be localized in the cavity. The power generation from acoustic energy is based on the effect of the wave localization in the cavity of the sonic crystal and the direct piezoelectric effect of the piezoelectric material.

Acoustic energy harvesting using resonant cavity of a sonic crystal

Vibration damage detection of a Timoshenko beam by spatial wavelet based approach

Damage detection of a rectangular plate by spatial wavelet based approach

Acoustic energy harvesting by piezoelectric curved beams in the cavity of a sonic crystal is investigated. A resonant cavity of the sonic crystal is used to localize the acoustic wave as the acoustic waves are incident into the sonic crystal at the resonant frequency. The piezoelectric curved beam is placed in the resonant cavity and vibrated by the acoustic wave. The energy harvesting can be achieved as the acoustic waves are incident at the resonant frequency. A model for energy harvesting of the piezoelectric curved beam is also developed to predict the output voltage and power of the energy harvesting. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0964-1726/19/4/045016/pdf

Acoustic energy harvesting by piezoelectric curved beams in the cavity of a sonic crystal

By calculating the transmission coefficients by finite-element software, the study of the tunable acoustic band gap for two-dimensional (2D) phononic crystals composed of a square array of hollow cylinders in an air background is considered. The inclusions are a dielectric elastomer cylindrical actuator, which is made of a hollow cylinder sandwiched between two compliant electrodes. By applying a voltage between the compliant electrodes, the radial strain of the silicone-made actuator is investigated. The acoustic band gaps are changed due to the radial strain of the dielectric elastomer. The frequency range of the dielectric elastomer composite can be extended by increasing the applied voltage. A tunable acoustic band gap of the phononic crystal is realized via the unique character of dielectric elastomer. The calculations also demonstrate that there exists a local stop band within the pass band. With a local stop band gap, 2D phononic crystals may thus serve as an acoustic filter or switch.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0964-1726/17/01/015011/pdf

Lien Wen Chen

Papers

Acoustic energy harvesting using resonant cavity of a sonic crystal

Vibration damage detection of a Timoshenko beam by spatial wavelet based approach

Damage detection of a rectangular plate by spatial wavelet based approach

Acoustic energy harvesting by piezoelectric curved beams in the cavity of a sonic crystal

The tunable acoustic band gaps of two-dimensional phononic crystals with a dielectric elastomer cylindrical actuator