Major Qualifying Project

August 2018 - April 2019

With the increasing push for sustainability, more industries are looking for ways to incorporate
renewable energy. With the amount of machinery being used around the world, researchers are
beginning to investigate machine vibrations as a renewable energy source. This project aimed to
create a working prototype that demonstrates the ability of piezoelectric materials to generate
electricity from these vibrations. The final prototype design not only harvested electricity, but
also successfully dampened excess vibrations to protect the machinery. The design included a
square tile that housed the piezoelectric circuit, dampening subsystem, and supported the
blender. Upon final testing, the prototype was able to charge a capacitor. With a dampening
system, the prototype generated 8 millivolts.