Elise Wendlandt
Research Mentor(s): Binh Truong
Mentor Department: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
Authors:
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 68
Abstract
Magnetoelectric wireless power transfer systems show promise for biomedical implantable devices that require system miniaturization for achieving high-power-density performance. However, little is known about the performance of a ME composite when its geometric dimensions change. This may be due to the lack of theoretical analysis to provide a thorough understanding. In this work, we have investigated the optimal choice of the geometric dimensions of the magnetoelectric composite to maximize the output power of a magnetoelectric wireless power transfer system when subject to a volume constraint. Based on the relationships between the transducer geometry and other parameters such as the resonance frequency, the electromechanical transduction factor, and the resonator figure of merit, we have algebraically transformed the original problem to an equivalent one, where only optimizing the thickness ratio is sufficient. These findings are to be validated through rigorous experiments. In the measurement setup, a single thick coil is used as a transmitter for producing an applied magnetic field. A magnetoelectric transducer composed of Galfenol and PZT (lead zirconate titanate) plays the role of a receiver, which captures the magnetic energy and first converts it to the vibration of the magnetoelectric composite. The kinetic energy is then transformed into electricity through the piezoelectric effects. Multiple devices with different ratios between the thickness of the Galfenol and PZT layers are fabricated and characterized. The data are collected and compared with the theoretical predictions to examine the accuracy of the developed model. The obtained results can provide a significant step toward designing an optimal magnetoelectric generator for applications where a small-scale device is desired.
