Harvesting Ambient Energy from Trains

Speaker:  Thomas O'Connor

Host: MICS

Date: April 03 (Friday), 2015
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: Whittemore 654 (6th Floor Conference Room)

Abstract:

The freight rail industry is actively seeking new ways to harvest ambient energy from moving trains in order to provide power to their un-electrified railcars. One possible vibration-based energy harvesting solution has been developed at the VT Railway Technologies Lab. While the mechanical aspects of this energy harvesting system have been developed thoroughly, the electrical aspect have not been optimized for the given application. This seminar involves discussion of the electrical characteristics of the energy harvester, a brief introduction to power electronics, the involvement of power electronics in vibration-based energy harvesting systems, and development of the power converter used with this particular energy harvester.

Bio:

Thomas O'Connor received B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2013. Since then, he has been working with Dr. Ha and the MICS lab with various research projects. He plans to receive his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech this Spring, 2015. His research interests include electronics system integration, energy harvesting, power electronics, and power systems.