Boosting energy harvesting efficiency through novel tri-hybrid multi-stable vibration-based energy harvesting techniques: Mechanical designs and potential applications

Technical Seminar:
Boosting energy harvesting efficiency through novel tri-hybrid multi-stable vibration-based energy harvesting techniques: Mechanical designs and potential applications

Date, time & venue

12 June 2024 (Wednesday), 17:00-18:00, Seminar via Zoom Meeting

Organized by

HKIE Civil Division and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Programme Highlight

Vibrations are omnipresent in our environment, but often this energy goes to waste. Through the conversion of mechanical or biomechanical vibrations in the surrounding environment into electrical energy, vibration-based energy harvesting techniques offer a sustainable and autonomous power supply. This supports the shift towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy framework, potentially aiding in the achievement of a net-zero carbon environment. Research on vibration-based energy harvesting methods, from macro- to nano-scales, has made significant progress over the past two decades. However, there is a need to improve the performance of these techniques under low-frequency, low-amplitude, and random ambient excitations. Recent trends and demands may provide new insights into addressing this issue. This presentation will introduce various innovative tri-hybrid multi-stable nonlinearity-enhanced vibration-driven energy harvesting devices, which are able to serve as a universal power source for powering various commercial electronic devices (e.g., smartphones and GPS sensors) under low-level excitation conditions. The current study, utilizing the same device configuration, has the potential to be used in multiple fields for monitoring the condition of rail transport, human-induced movements, and environmental monitoring during irregular wave motions.

Language

English

Fee

Free of Charge.

Speakers
Dr S.K. Lai is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is the programme leader of BEng (Hons) in Structural and Fire Safety Engineering. His research interests cover energy harvesting, structural dynamics, acoustic metamaterials, and computational mechanics. He has authored over 100 research papers in these fields. Dr Lai is a Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council in the UK, a Chartered Professional Engineer of Engineers Australia, and a Registered Professional Engineer in Hong Kong and Australia. He is also a corporate member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institution of Engineers Australia.

Registration & Enquiries

Please complete the on-line registration at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tiEw8-caQamTO50ITxfZyA. The number of participants is limited to 500 on a first-come-first served basis. Priority will be given to members of the Civil Division.

Email registration will not be accepted. Successful applicants will be informed by email and provided a link to the Zoom Meeting at the designated time slot. Participants need to sign in using the membership no. and name entered at the time of registration. A CPD certificate will be issued 3 weeks after the seminar based on this membership no. and name.

For enquiries, please contact Mr. David Wong via email: davidwong@pyengineering.com.