For years now we have been reading about the conservation of resources and exploration of alternate techniques of resource generation. Exploiting technological capabilities for resource generation is not a new trend.
However, in a recent development, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, proposed a new way of enhancing the electricity output from already explored piezoelectric materials.
What Are Piezoelectric Materials?
Piezoelectric materials have the capability of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. These materials produce an electric current when placed under mechanical stress.
The concept of piezoelectricity has been a matter of keen interest for scientists and researchers for a long time now. The concept was discovered somewhere in the 1880s and is currently used in lighters to generate heat.
Use of piezoelectric materials for generating the energy required for everyday use is an exciting domain for researchers but is currently subject to a lot of challenges.
Piezoelectric materials can only generate electricity when subjected to mechanical pressure, so, in the absence of mechanical stress, no electricity can be generated. Additionally, the amount of electricity generated is very minimal.
Read Also: Students Of IIT-BHU Created Bricks Out Of Waste In Order To Harness Rainwater
What Do IIT Researchers Propose?
To counter the problem of minimal energy being generated from piezoelectric materials, researchers from IIT Mandi proposed that these materials can be used in special floor tiles for generating electricity.
According to them, when the materials would be used in floor tiles on roads, mechanical stress would be generated from not only human beings walking on them but also the vehicles moving on them.
The weight so generated from humans walking and vehicles crossing on the roads would be able to generate electricity for lighting up the signals and the roads.
Rahul Vaish, associate professor at IIT Mandi, explained how they have created a special arrangement known as graded poling and how it could enhance the electricity output generated by 100 times. Additionally, they have used numerical techniques that could utilize various forms of mechanical stresses, thereby enhancing the electricity output.
Hopefully, the researchers will be able to significantly improve the electrical output to efficiently utilize the capabilities of piezoelectric materials for electricity generation.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Times of India, The Hindustan Times, IIT Mandi
Find the blogger: @_RitikaNijhawan
This post is tagged under: IIT Mandi, Indian Institute of Technology, electricity generation, resource conservation, piezoelectric materials, technology, sustainable development, scientific development
Other Recommendations:
IIT – Madras Creates AI To Convert Brain Signals Into English
