Ryan Williamson, “Energy Harvesting with Nanocellulose Terfenol-D Composite”
Mentors: Rani Elhajjar & Chiu Law, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Piezoelectric Ceramics have been shown to generate electricity when mechanical stress is applied. Using a shaker, mechanical stress can be applied at varying loads and high frequencies. The purpose of this project is to test this method on a nanocellulose Terfenol-D composite. Terfenol-D is a magnetostrictive alloy, which means that applying a magnetic field causes the material to change shape. Inversely, applying a mechanical stress causes a change in magnetic flux inside the material. A continuously changing applied stress leads to a continuously changing magnetic flux, which is how power is generated. We tested different samples of nanocellulose Terfenol-D composite at varying weight percentages of Terfenol-D and varying frequencies to optimize power generated.