Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In this work, energy was harvested from ankle flexion during gait. For this, two piezoelectric thin films were tested: PVDF and CdS. The PVDF film was a commercial option, and the CdS film was fabricated in our laboratory. Deposition of the CdS film is also reported in this work. Energy harvested during gait from heel strike and ankle flexion was compared. Tests were performed with 10 healthy volunteers walking on a treadmill at 1.2–1.5 km/h. The volunteers wore a sock with piezoelectric films incorporated in the heel and ankle joint (talocrural joint). Tests were performed first with the PVDF film and then with the CdS film. The CdS thin film obtained a d33 coefficient of 1.4928 nm/V, indicating high electrical energy generated from strain-stress. The talocrural joint generated the most energy: 11.359 μJ for the PVDF film and 0.854 μJ for the CdS film. Although the CdS film generated less energy than the commercial option, it was shown that harvesting energy from ankle flexion increased the energy harvested by more than 700% during gait compared to the energy harvested from heel-to-ground impact.
Source: Micromachines
DOI: 10.3390/mi16060698
Authors: Kimberly Trevizo, Luis Santana, Manuel Chairez, Amanda Carrillo, Rafael Gonzalez-Landaeta
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,534
OpenAlex ID: W4411205151