Ballistic Kelvin's water dropper for energy harvesting

Yanbo Xie, Hans L. De Boer, Ad J. Sprenkels, Albert Van Den Berg, Jan C.T. Eijkel

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a microfluidic self-excited energy conversion system inspired by Kelvin's water dropper but driven by inertia instead of gravity. Two micro water jets are produced by forcing water through two micropores, breaking up into microdroplets which are inductively charged by electrostatic gates. Targets and electrostatic gates are cross-connected in a way similar to Kelvin's water dropper. To prevent overcharging of the droplets, a voltage divider using inversely connected diodes was introduced in our system to control the charge induction. Maximal 18% energy conversion efficiency was obtained with the diode-gated system.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication18th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2014
PublisherChemical and Biological Microsystems Society
Pages163-165
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9780979806476
StatePublished - 2014
Event18th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2014 - San Antonio, United States
Duration: 26 Oct 201430 Oct 2014

Publication series

Name18th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2014

Conference

Conference18th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2014
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Antonio
Period26/10/1430/10/14

Keywords

  • Energy conversion
  • Kelvin's water dropper
  • Micro-droplets

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