Ambient Energy Harvesting Using Electrostrictive Polymer Composite

The possibility of recycling ambient energies with miniature electrical generators instead of using batteries with limited lifespan has stimulated important research efforts over the past years. Integration of such miniature generators is mainly envisioned into low power autonomous systems, for various industrial or domestic applications. Advances in the field of new smart materials have suggested the investigation of their capabilities as energy converters. One of the most promising types of new materials is represented by electrostrictive polymer composites, belonging to the family of electro-active polymers. In fact the few microgenerators developed are often rigid structures that can perturb the application or the environment. Thus, our objective is to create a flexible, non-intrusive scavenger using electro-active polymers. We report in this paper an analytical model which, predict the energy produced by a simple electroactive membrane, and some promising experimental results.