Dr. Sam Behrens Profile

Dr. Sam Behrens

Project Leader/Research Scientist at CSIRO

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (15)

Proceedings Article | 27 April 2011 Paper

Design of electromagnetic energy harvesters for large-scale structural vibration applications

Ian Cassidy, Jeffrey Scruggs, Sam Behrens

Proceedings Volume 7977, 79770P (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880639

KEYWORDS: Transducers, Electromechanical design, Servomechanisms, Resistance, Device simulation, Energy harvesting, Oscillators, Lead, Control systems, Wind energy

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Proceedings Article | 10 April 2010 Paper

Feasibility of a multidimensional wave energy harvester

Anthony Fowler, Sam Behrens

Proceedings Volume 7643, 76431D (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847753

KEYWORDS: Wave propagation, Motion models, Transducers, Data modeling, Electromagnetism, Wind energy, Motion measurement, Systems modeling, Energy harvesting, Computer simulations

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Proceedings Article | 9 April 2010 Paper

Long term performance of wearable transducer for motion energy harvesting

Scott McGarry, Sam Behrens

Proceedings Volume 7643, 76430B (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847453

KEYWORDS: Transducers, Ferroelectric polymers, Energy harvesting, Electronic components, Solar energy, Resistors, Electrodes, Resistance, Cell phones, Actuators

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Proceedings Article | 7 April 2009 Paper

Evaluation of flexible transducers for motion energy harvesting

Michael Collins, Sam Behrens, Scott McGarry

Proceedings Volume 7288, 72880X (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.815435

KEYWORDS: Transducers, Energy harvesting, Resistance, Energy efficiency, Solar energy, Ferroelectric polymers, Electronic components, Sensors, Amplifiers, Mechanical efficiency

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Proceedings Article | 7 April 2009 Paper

Thermal energy harvesting between the air/water interface for powering wireless sensor nodes

J. Davidson, M. Collins, S. Behrens

Proceedings Volume 7288, 728814 (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.815859

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Energy harvesting, Water, Data modeling, Sensor networks, Instrument modeling, Solar thermal energy, Environmental monitoring, Process modeling, Thermal modeling

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Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water and all living things are dependent upon this resource. As such there are many applications for monitoring environmental data in and around aquatic environments. Wireless sensor networks are poised to revolutionise this process as the reduction in size and power consumption of electronics are opening up many new possibilities for these networks. Aquatic sensor nodes are usually battery powered, so as sensor networks increase in number and size, replacement of depleted batteries becomes time consuming, wasteful and in some cases unfeasible. Additionally, a battery that is large enough to last the life of a sensor node would dominate the overall size of the node, and thus would not be very attractive or practical. As a result, there is a clear need to explore novel alternatives to power sensor nodes/networks, as existing battery technology hinders the widespread deployment of these networks. By harvesting energy from their local environment, sensor networks can achieve much greater run-times, years not months, with potentially lower cost and weight. A potential renewable energy source in aquatic environments exists via the temperature gradient present between the water layer and ambient air. A body of water will be either a few degrees warmer or colder than the air directly above it dependant on its latitude, time of year and time of day. By incorporating a thermal energy harvesting device into the sensor node deployment which promotes the flow of heat energy across the thermal gradient, a portion of the energy flow can be converted into useable power for the sensor node. To further increase this temperature difference during the day the top section can be heated to temperatures above the ambient air temperature by absorbing the incoming sunlight. As an initial exploration into the potential of this novel power source we have developed a model of the process. By inputting environmental data, the model calculates the power which can be extracted by a thermal energy harvesting device. Initial outputs show a possibility of up to 10W/m2 of power available from measured sites assuming a thermal energy harvester operating with Carnot efficiency.

Proceedings Article | 27 April 2007 Paper

Adaptive vibration energy harvesting

Sam Behrens, John Ward, Josh Davidson

Proceedings Volume 6525, 652508 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.715519

KEYWORDS: Energy harvesting, Transducers, Solar energy, Capacitors, Energy efficiency, Wind energy, Electronic components, Electromagnetism, Sensors, Energy transfer

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Proceedings Article | 11 January 2007 Paper

Potential system efficiencies for MEMS vibration energy harvesting

S. Behrens

Proceedings Volume 6414, 64140D (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.695919

KEYWORDS: Microelectromechanical systems, Transducers, Electromagnetism, Energy harvesting, Energy efficiency, Resistance, Solar energy, Resistors, Mechanical efficiency, Diodes

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Proceedings Article | 29 July 2004 Paper

Vibration isolation using a shunted electromagnetic transducer

Sam Behrens, Andrew Fleming, S. O. Reza Moheimani

Proceedings Volume 5386, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.539690

KEYWORDS: Electromagnetism, Transducers, Signal attenuation, Vibration isolation, Sensors, Device simulation, Resistance, Control systems, Actuators, Inductance

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Proceedings Article | 31 July 2003 Paper

An autonomous piezoelectric shunt damping system

Andrew Fleming, Sam Behrens, S. O. Moheimani

Proceedings Volume 5052, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.483970

KEYWORDS: Transducers, Signal processing, Inductance, Digital signal processing, Switching, Actuators, Bridges, Resistors, Amplifiers, Ferroelectric materials

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Proceedings Article | 31 July 2003 Paper

Robust passive piezoelectric shunt dampener

Sam Behrens, Andrew Fleming, S. O. Moheimani

Proceedings Volume 5052, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.483968

KEYWORDS: Erbium, Transducers, Cesium, Lawrencium, Smart materials, Actuators

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Proceedings Article | 31 July 2003 Paper

Electrodynamic vibration supression

Sam Behrens, Andrew Fleming, S. O. Moheimani

Proceedings Volume 5052, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.483977

KEYWORDS: Lithium, Electromagnetism, Electrodynamics, Transducers, Control systems, Smart materials, Magnetism, Dynamic signature verification, Digital Light Processing, Manufacturing

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