• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.22 no.6 s.171
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• pp.199-206
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• 2005

In this work, a theoretical investigation on the energy harvesting is undertaken using one of potential smart materials; piezoelectric material. The energy equations fur both square and circular types of the piezoelectric material are derived, and the energy generated from two commercially available Products: $PZT (Lead/Zirconium/Titanium: Pb(Zr,\;Ti)O_3)$ and PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) are investigated in terms of the thickness and area. In addition, a finite element analysis (FEA) is undertaken to obtain the generated energy due to the uniform pressure applied on the surface of the piezoelectric materials. A comparative work between the theory and the FEA is made followed by the brief discussion on the usage of the harvested energy for Bio MEMS.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.53-59
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• 2008

This paper reports an experimental investigation to design a tree-shaped wind power system using piezo-electric materials. The proposed system is to produce power if wind is strong enough to produce any bending motions in the energy converting elements, i.e., piezo-electric materials. Two different kinds of piezoelectric materials are used in the present study to produce power by scavenging energy from the wind. The soft flexible one made the leaf element while the hard one was applied to the trunk portion of the tree requiring rather strong winds to generate any power. Although small, each leaf deems to play the role of a power producer and currents are continuously trickling down to the storage battery installed at the bottom of the system.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.487-494
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• 2021

Piezoelectric generators use direct piezoelectric effects that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Many studies were attempted to fabricate piezoelectric generators using piezoelectrics such as ZnO, PZT, PVDF. However, these various inorganic/organic piezoelectric materials are not suitable for bio-implantable devices due to problems such as brittleness, toxicity, bio-incompatibility, bio-degradation. Thus, in this paper, piezoelectric generators were prepared using a silk fibroin film which is bio-compatible by dip-coating method. The silk fibroin films are a mixed state of silk I and silk II having stable β-sheet type structures and shows the d₃₃ value of 8~10 pC/N. There was a difference in output voltages according to the thickness. The silk fibroin generators, coated 10 times and 20 times, revealed the power density of 16.07 μW/cm² and 35.31 μW/cm² using pushing tester, respectively. The silk fibroin generators are sensitive to various pressure levels, which may arise from body motions such as finger tapping, foot pressing, wrist shaking, etc. The silk fibroin piezoelectric generators with bio-compatibility shows the applicability as a low-power implantable piezoelectric generator, healthcare monitoring service, and biotherapy devices.