SBIR Phase I: High-power Mechanical Energy Harvesting Using Reverse Electrowetting on Nanostructured Surfaces

SBIR 第一阶段：在纳米结构表面上利用反向电润湿进行高功率机械能收集

• 批准号: 1013372
• 负责人: Joseph Taylor
• 金额: $ 14.9万
• 依托单位: InStep NanoPower, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1013372&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; power; Mechanical; Energy

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine feasibility of developing a radically new mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion method which is based on reverse electrowetting - a recently discovered novel microfluidic phenomenon. The approach is targeted towards high-power harvesting of mechanical energy, which is achieved through the interaction of thousands of microscopic liquid droplets with novel nanostructured films. High-power harvesting of mechanical energy is a long-recognized concept which has not been commercialized in the past due to the lack of a viable energy harvesting technology. Existing methods of mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion such as electromagnetic, piezoelectric, or electrostatic do not allow effective direct coupling to the majority of high-power environmental mechanical energy sources. There is clearly a need for a simple and efficient high-power mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion method capable of utilizing a broad range of aperiodic forces and displacements typically encountered in nature. The proposed approach aims to satisfy these goals and provide a revolutionary leap in the energy harvesting performance. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project hinges upon its ability to provide a viable alternative to traditional electrochemical batteries and thus reduce cost, pollution, and other problems associated with their widespread use. In recent years, portable electronics have become inextricably intertwined with our daily life. However, for all their decreasing size and increasing capabilities, powering mobile devices has remained a challenge. The majority of portable electronic devices are still powered by batteries. The processing power of mobile devices doubles approximately every 18 month in accordance with Moore's law. In contrast the energy capacity of batteries powering these devices has not greatly increased over the last couple of decades. As the result electrical batteries emerged as a critical bottleneck impeding further progress in portable electronics development. If successful, the proposed approach can provide a breakthrough power generation technology and lead to greatly reduced dependence on traditional batteries. This would translate into such important societal benefits as improved productivity and increased efficiency of US workers, decreased pollution due to reduction in the amount and capacity of the batteries required to achieve the same level of performance, as well as development of significant new export opportunities.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）I阶段项目将确定开发一种基于反向电解的彻底新机械到电能量转换方法的可行性 - 最近发现的一种新型的新型微流体现象。该方法针对的是机械能的高功率收集，这是通过数千个显微镜液滴与新型纳米结构膜的相互作用来实现的。机械能的大功率收获是一个长期认可的概念，由于缺乏可行的能源收集技术，过去曾经没有商业化。现有的机械到电能量转化的方法，例如电磁，压电或静电，不允许与大多数高功率环境机械能源的有效直接耦合。显然，需要一种简单有效的高功率机械到电能量转换方法，能够利用自然界中通常遇到的广泛的多种临界力和位移。拟议的方法旨在满足这些目标，并为能源收获绩效提供革命性的飞跃。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力取决于其为传统电化学电池提供可行替代方案的能力，从而降低了与其广泛使用相关的成本，污染和其他问题。近年来，便携式电子产品已经与我们的日常生活密不可分。 但是，尽管其尺寸降低和功能的增加，但移动设备的动力仍然是一个挑战。大多数便携式电子设备仍由电池提供动力。根据摩尔法律，移动设备的处理能力大约每18个月加倍。相比之下，在过去的几十年中，为这些设备提供动力的电池能力并没有大大增加。 结果，电池是一种关键的瓶颈，阻碍了便携式电子开发的进一步进展。如果成功的话，建议的方法可以提供突破性的发电技术，并大大减少对传统电池的依赖。这将转化为重要的社会福利，例如提高生产率和提高美国工人的效率，由于减少达到相同绩效所需的电池的数量和能力而导致污染的降低，以及发展大量新的出口机会。