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Accession Number:
ADA589910
Title:
Ultra Low-Voltage Energy Harvesting
Descriptive Note:
Master's thesis
Corporate Author:
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
Report Date:
2013-09-01
Pagination or Media Count:
98.0
Abstract:
The U.S. Navy has many opportunities to take advantage of energy sources that are usually wasted because these low power sources yield such low-voltages that a normal voltage converter is not efficient enough to harvest the energy. Low-voltage energy is available in many forms including solar, thermal, vibration, and electro-magnetic. The power that can be obtained from these sources on a small scale can be taken advantage of by using an ultra-low power boost converter that is specifically designed for energy harvesting applications. These energy sources with a very small footprint can be used in military and defense applications such as wireless sensor networks, industrial monitoring, and varieties of portable and wearable devices. The theory of power conversion, synchronous rectification, and maximum power point tracking is discussed. A discussion of the benefits of using an energy converter made specifically for energy harvesting is also covered. A commercially available energy harvester converter is simulated using a simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis, and a solar application is tested with hardware. The hardware experiments explore the startup sequence of the circuit, the switching profile of the converter, and a test of the circuit s efficiency.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
