Open AccessRadioisotope energy conversion using electrostatic vibrationto–to–electricity converters
Author(s) -
Wang Xiang,
Qiang Zhang,
Ranbin Chen,
Deng Zhi-Qiang,
Haisheng San
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
wuli xuebao
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 47
ISSN - 1000-3290
DOI - 10.7498/aps.63.028501
Subject(s) - vibration , electricity , converters , power (physics) , matlab , energy conversion efficiency , electricity generation , capacitance , energy transformation , computer science , electrical engineering , electric potential energy , energy (signal processing) , materials science , automotive engineering , acoustics , physics , electrode , engineering , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics , operating system
Wireless sensor nodes deployed at remote and inaccessible locations need long lifetime power sources to prevent cost prohibitive periodic replacement. In this work, we present a radioisotope 63Ni energy converter using radioisotope-powered electrostatic vibration-to-electricity conversion. Free damped vibration happening in a suspended parallel plate structure with a mass enables a variable capacitance, which can be used to realize the generation of electricity energy by an external circuit. The MATLAB/Simulink is used to simulate the vibration and output power, and the Ansys is used to optimize the structure design. The results show that the optimized design structure with a first-order natural frequency of 500 Hz, a plate gap of 75 μm, and an external resistance of 90 kΩ can generate an average output power of 0.416 μW and conversion efficiency of 8.25%.