Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
group
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Sriraj Srihari - Senior Wairimu Mwangi - Graduate
Lead Presenter's Name
Sriraj Srihari
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Mandar Kulkarni
Abstract
Due to the depleting levels of fossil fuels and their increased damage to the Earth, new methods of energy harvesting that do not have the same negative effects as fossil fuels need to be found. To overcome that, a new method of generating or conserving energy which uses energy from daily activity like running, walking, or cycling is proposed. A study into molecularly doped polyurethane foam was done to find out if making a shoe sole with that was partially piezoelectric would assist a piezopatch to generate more energy and was found to be ineffective in that the process to make the foam piezoelectric was far too difficult to outweigh the benefits. After this, the shoe sole was developed without poling chemicals and only the patch was implemented to generate energy. A prototype is under development with the patch and other boards that are required to generate a direct 3.3V DC connection to the charging circuit so that every step would assist in the charging of the shoe battery. After the preliminary prototype, more analysis will be done to find the best location for the patch and battery size so the patches can always be a positive input to the charging system.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
Yes, Student Internal Grants
Pseudo-Piezoelectric Foam Shoe
Due to the depleting levels of fossil fuels and their increased damage to the Earth, new methods of energy harvesting that do not have the same negative effects as fossil fuels need to be found. To overcome that, a new method of generating or conserving energy which uses energy from daily activity like running, walking, or cycling is proposed. A study into molecularly doped polyurethane foam was done to find out if making a shoe sole with that was partially piezoelectric would assist a piezopatch to generate more energy and was found to be ineffective in that the process to make the foam piezoelectric was far too difficult to outweigh the benefits. After this, the shoe sole was developed without poling chemicals and only the patch was implemented to generate energy. A prototype is under development with the patch and other boards that are required to generate a direct 3.3V DC connection to the charging circuit so that every step would assist in the charging of the shoe battery. After the preliminary prototype, more analysis will be done to find the best location for the patch and battery size so the patches can always be a positive input to the charging system.