Advantages of a novel truncated cone DE-air generator in energy conversion

Harvesting energy from ambient environments such as vibrations is a feasible approach to self-power low-powered electric devices. The dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) is a type of novel electrostatic generator with superior vibration energy harvesting (EH) performance. On the basis of traditional DEGs, a new concept of dielectric elastomer (DE)-air generator (DEAG), which contains the air layer and the DE membrane (DEM) as a composite dielectric layer, is proposed in this paper for the first time. Inspired by a classical truncated cone DEG (TC-DEG) concept, the novel truncated cone DEAG (TC-DEAG) is designed and comprehensively studied. Compared with the TC-DEG, the proposed TC-DEAG provides the larger capacitance ratio, leading to superior electrical output. The energy conversion mechanisms of both the TC-DEG and the TC-DEAG under a regular linear reciprocating excitation are analyzed theoretically by deducing the deformation condition of the DEM and the electrical outputs. Through measuring the capacitance of the DEM under deformations and testing the output voltage of the fabricated generators, the proposed theoretical models and predictions are verified. Moreover, numerical simulations based on the verified theoretical model are conducted to reveal the influences of some important system parameters on the EH performances of both generators, providing guidelines for the performance improvement of the generators.