Page 135 - eBook_Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Manufacturing V2

Fabrication and Characterization of a Low-Cost Piezoelectric using Rochelle
Salt for Energy Harvesting and Sensor Applications

The total processing was done at a very mild temperature, at
60 °C, with almost no apparatus, no cleanroom, no vacuum
chambers, and no special tools. Upon testing with repeated
mechanical pressure, the device yielded a voltage signal that was
quite distinct, thus confirming that such a simple arrangement was
able to collect energy efficiently (Brusa, Carrera & Delprete,
2023).

This paper shows simple realities of construction with readily
available materials and with low-tech methods in building
working piezoelectric energy harvesters. It holds enormous
promises for future optimisation and may open self-powered
system applications in wearables, low-power electronics, and
other portable appliances (Brusa, Carrera & Delprete, 2023).

EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

Materials

The experimental set-up involved aluminium tape and Rochelle
salt, a crystalline material with piezoelectric properties, as shown
in Figure 49 and 50. The salt, comes with commercial name of
potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate, was obtained in powdered
form from Sigma-Aldrich (Germany). The electromechanical
properties, crystalline structure, and elemental composition have
been well documented in the literature (Rusev, Tzaneva &
Angelov, 2023).

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