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Converter Design for Hybrid Thermoelectricity and Solar Energy Harvesting for Wearable Sensors

Kadkhodaei, Mohammad Reza | 2022

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 55720 (05)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Electrical Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Zolghadri, Mohammad Reza; Fakharzadeh Jahromi, Mohammad
  7. Abstract:
  8. Power harvesters are used to generate energy for electronic devices. These electrical energy generators consist of three main parts: energy source, power electronic converter and energy storage. In order to minimize some of the weaknesses of these devices, including low power density and low reliability, the hybrid power harvesting method can be utilized. In this thesis, we design and build a hybrid energy harvester considering the advantages of simultaneous usage of solar and thermal energies for a wearable sensor, focusing on "efficiency enhancement" and "availability improvement". In the designed device, both solar and thermal energy harvesting units operate independently. In the solar power harvesting unit, the solar panels are connected to each other and the converters by parallel differential configuration, and the output power of this unit enters a rechargeable battery through the charging circuit. Also, tracking of the maximum power point is operated by variable step perturb and linearize method. In the thermal energy harvesting unit, a thermoelectric generator converts heat into electricity and the electricity enters the battery through a flyback converter. The instantaneous output power of the solar power harvesting unit and thermal power harvesting unit at their main operating points are 44.47 mW and 66.62 µW, respectively. Based on the calculations, simulations and tests on the built sample, if the user of the introduced wearable sensor wears the sensor on the wrist permanently and goes to the outdoors for 1.5 hours during the day, the device is able to fully charge the wearable sensor. The main advantage of this device is the ability to receive solar energy in the irradiance range of 3.5 watts per square meter to 1000 watts per square meter, which makes it more useful than similar models. Also, the average efficiency of the thermal energy harvesting unit is measured as 72%
  9. Keywords:
  10. Wearable Sensor ; Thermoelectric Generator ; Solar Cells ; Power Electronic Converter ; Differential Power Analysis (DPA) ; Power Harvesting System ; Hybrid Power Harvesting ; Thermal Energy Storage

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