title: Environmentally friendly power generator based on moving liquid dielectric and double layer effect.
abstract: An electrostatic power generator converts mechanical energy to electrical energy by utilising the principle of variable capacitance. This change in capacitance is usually achieved by varying the gap or overlap between two parallel metallic plates. This paper proposes a novel electrostatic micro power generator where the change in capacitance is achieved by the movement of an aqueous solution of NaCl. A significant change in capacitance is achieved due to the higher than air dielectric constant of water and the Helmholtz double layer capacitor formed by ion separation at the electrode interfaces. The proposed device has significant advantages over traditional electrostatic devices which include low bias voltage and low mechanical frequency of operation. This is critical if the proposed device is to have utility in harvesting power from the environment. A figure of merit exceeding 10000(10(8)μW)/(mm(2)HzV(2)) which is two orders of magnitude greater than previous devices, is demonstrated for a prototype operating at a bias voltage of 1.2 V and a droplet frequency of 6 Hz. Concepts are presented for large scale power harvesting.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|NICTA Victoria Research Laboratory, 115 Batman Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|NICTA Victoria Research Laboratory, 115 Batman Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Abeyrathne
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|NICTA Victoria Research Laboratory, 115 Batman Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003, Australia.
authors.forename: Md S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, Bld 261, 203 Bouverie St, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.|Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bld 193, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skafidas