Ricerc@Sapienza

Piezoelectric materials present the capability of converting mechanical to electrical energy or vice versa. Those devices have an interesting point of study since their application adapts to a new circumstance. Hence, the present work relates the implementation of a piezoelectric material embedded in the structural building internal connections, adopting the concept of smart buildings/structures. The project aims to develop piezoelectric-dampers (PiDs), which are composite elements made by piezoelectrics, steel, and rubber. PiDs are located in the bracing-to-beam connections of the buildings and work by transforming the wind-induced oscillations in electrical usable energy, and this phenomenon occurs due to the piezoelectric components they own. It is expected that the harvested energy is directly proportional to the device's experimented frequency of vibration. EH from piezoelectric devices is not so implemented in buildings due to reasons, such as the deficiency of piezoelectric materials in bearing loads and low frequencies of the vibrations occurring in buildings. The project tends to promote the concept of energy harvesting (EH) from piezoelectric devices in structural building's connection at macro scale. Hence, the PiDs present an innovative coupling between the piezoelectric block and the load-carrying member as steel and rubber, allowing the piezoelectric-blocks to work in nonlinear/high-frequency regimes arising from buckling or impact, aiming a higher efficiency. Last, the energy produced by those devices will benefit wireless sensors used in building automation and structural health monitoring systems. It presents an idea of sustainability, such as, production of a new power source and avoiding the use of cables. In addition, another point of the project is the study of a rheological model to understand the influence of PiDs on structural damping.