Course detail

Energy Harvesting and Smart Materials

FSI-RAE-AAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course “Energy Harvesting and Smart Materials” deals with introduction of unique ways of the energy generating from surroundings. Currently remote electronics, autonomous low power devices and wireless sensors are used in Industry 4.0 applications. One possibility to overcome energy limitations of batteries is to harvest ambient energy from the environment. The ambient energy is available in the form of radiation, thermal energy and mechanical energy of the environment. The course deals with Smart Materials and mainly focused on energy harvesting from mechanical energy of vibrations, shocks, deformation, human behaviour etc., and simulation modelling of energy harvesting systems.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. Zdeněk Hadaš, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Solid Mechanics, Mechatronics and Biomechanics (ÚMTMB)

Offered to foreign students

Of all faculties

Entry knowledge

Kinematics and dynamics, Solving the 2nd order differential equations, Laws of electromechanical energy conversion, Laws of conservation of energy, Basic knowledge of measurement of electrical and non-electrical quantities, Simulation software Matlab-Simulink and ANSYS (basic knowledge).

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The students will solve reports from the exercises and labs, also present an overview of individual topic and students create the final project, which are necessary for awarding the course-unit credit.
Attendance at practical training is obligatory. Absence is compensated by special tasks according to instructions of the tutor.

Aims

The objective of the course “Energy Harvesting and Smart Materials” is to familiarize students with a concept of Industry 4.0 and basic principles of energy harvesting systems as autonomous sources of energy for Internet of Things applications. Students will be familiarized with methods of electro-mechanical conversion, principle of photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric generators and also MEMS technologies. The emphasis is on understanding the physical principles of energy harvesting methods mainly electro-mechanical conversion and simulation modelling of such mechatronic systems and piezoelectric devices.
The “Energy Harvesting and Smart Materials” deals with overview of independent ways of generating energy from surroundings for autonomous supplying of wireless sensors, remote electronics and low power devices. Students will be able to analyse cyber-physical systems and energy harvesting sources from the typical industrial systems.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

A. K. Batra, Almuatasim Alomari: Power Harvesting Via Smart Materials, SPIE 2017. (EN)
Fiala, P., Kadlecová, E.: Modelování elektromagnetických polí, FEKT VUT v Brně, 2005. (CS)
Grepl, R.: Modelování mechatronických systémů v Matlab/SimMechanics, BEN, 2007. (CS)
Olfa Kanoun: Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Networks: Technology, Components and System Design, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2018. (EN)
Shashank Priya, Daniel J. Inman: Energy Harvesting Technologies, Springer US, 2009 (EN)

Recommended reading

Adams, Thomas M., Layton, Richard A.: Introductory MEMS Fabrication and Applications, 2010. (EN)
Mukherjee, S., et al.: AmIware Hardware Technology Drivers of Ambient Intelligence, Philips Research Book Series Vol. 5, Springer Netherlands, 2006. (EN)
Tom J. Kaźmierski (Editor), Steve Beeby (Editor): Energy Harvesting Systems: Principles, Modeling and Applications, Springer, 2011. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BPC-EMU Bachelor's 3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional

  • Programme N-IMB-P Master's

    specialization IME , 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
    specialization BIO , 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional

  • Programme N-MET-P Master's 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme N-AIŘ-P Master's 2 year of study, winter semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

13 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Zdeněk Hadaš, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Introduction of energy harvesting technologies
2. Photovoltaic cells
3. Thermoelectric generators
4. Electro-mechanical conversion – physical principles
5. Electro-mechanical conversion – analysis of ambient vibration energy
6. Electromagnetic principle
7. Design of electromagnetic generators
8. Mechatronic system of energy harvesters
9. Piezoelectric principle
10. Piezoelectric materials and other SMART materials
11. Energy storage elements, Electronics – power management
12. Wireless sensor networks
13. MEMS

Laboratory exercise

26 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Zdeněk Hadaš, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Analysis of ambient energy for energy harvesting
2. Model of solar cells a thermoelectric generators
3. Thermoelectric module model
4. Vibration measurement and analysis
5. Mechanical energy analysis
6. Simulation and modelling of electromagnetic conversion
7. Model of magnetic field
8. Simulation modelling of complex electromagnetic generator
9. Measurement of energy harvesting devices
10. Model of piezoelectric elements and basic analysis
11. Model of piezoelectric generator
12. Model of power management electronics
13. Presentation of final projects