Modeling of piezo-SMA composites for thermal energy harvester

摘要

A hydrid composite comprised of shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers with piezoelectric ceramic is designed to transform thermomechanical energy into electrical energy that can be stored or used to power other devices. SMA fiber, after its shape is memorized and prestrained at martensitic phase, extends to its original length upon heating to austenitic finish temperature. The compressive residual stress of the composite is induced at austenitic phase, and then by cooling to martensitic finish temperature, SMA will shrink and the residual stress will reduce. By direct effect of the piezoelectric matrix material the mechanical energy which was induced by temperature change can be converted to electrical energy. 1-D and 3-D models for the energy harvesting mechanism of the composite have been proposed. Eshelby formulation with Mori-Tanaka mean field theory modification is used to determine the effective thermo-electro-mechanical properties of the composite. Attention is focused on the constrained recovery behavior of SMA phase in this study. Electrical model is examined and the electrical energy stored in the piezoelectric matrix as a result of stress fluctuation is estimated. Numerical example is given that illustrate the ability of the composite to convert the thermomechanical energy into electrical energy.