Conversion of the enviromental heat to electricity by means of ferroelectrics

• Grant number: 01/13743-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2002
• End date: February 28, 2005
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Agreement: DAAD
• Principal Investigator: José Arana Varela
• Grantee: Andreas Ries
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 00/01991-0 - Synthesis and Characterization of Ferroelectric Thin Films and Ceramics, AP.TEM

Abstract

This research project deals with the direct conversion of thermal energy to electrical energy using the electro caloric effect in ferroelectrics. For 50 years, devices have been known which are able to convert small amounts of the environmental heat to electricity. Unfortunately, their working conditions are somewhat cumbersome so that any effective energy production is possible only in space. Recently, a Russian inventor has published a further development of those converters, now designed for applications on the earth. The conversion efficiency has then been improved significantly. This new conversion device has been mentioned only one time in the literature with a very brief experimental description. No systematic investigation using different working conditions or different ferroelectric ceramics have been performed so far. The present research project aims at investigating the efficiency of this new conversion method and optimizing the experimental set-up. (AU)