Ricerc@Sapienza

The SMARTECH project will initiate innovative devices called piezoelectric-dampers (PiDs) to be embedded in modern tall buildings for simultaneous structural elements connection and energy harvesting (EH). PiDs are composite elements (piezoelectric+steel and rubber) located in the connections between structural members (e.g. columns and beams) and engaged by wind-induced oscillations to transform the kinetic energy of the vibrating structure into electricity. This will be possible thanks to the embedment of piezoelectric materials in PiDs. In fact, if subjected to forces, piezoelectric materials generate electric charges proportionate to strain amplitude and vibration frequency induced by that force.
The concept of PiD this will scale-up currently developed piezoelectric EH (pzEH) techniques at the micro and meso scales to the truly macro scale. pzEH devices have never been implemented as structural connections in civil structures for a number of reasons, such as the inadequacy of piezo materials in carrying loads and low frequencies of the vibrations occurring in buildings. These will be comprehensively addressed in SMARTECH by innovative in-parallel coupling schemes between piezo and the load carrying members such as steel or rubber members, and by allowing the piezo-blocks working in nonlinear/high-frequency regimes arising from buckling or impact. These features will allow their implementation in buildings for powering wireless sensors provided for building automation (BA), which leads to an increment of the building sustainability, and for structural-health monitoring (SHM). The SMARTECH project makes a step change in civil engineering structures design and management, by defining a new breed of SMART structures (SSs) with self-powering, adaptive-in-behavior capabilities. These structures not only resist loads, but they exploit wind-induced vibrations to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their performances.