Energy Harvesting Fabric

A human produces more than 100 Watts of waste heat during normal activity. If a fraction of this heat energy can be harvested it can replace the stored chemical energy in one or more of the batteries typically carried by soldiers in the field. The current generation batteries, such as the BB2590 are bulky and rigid. The PowerFelt material developed by Wake Forest University is ideally suited for harvesting power from active humans. It combines thermoelectric and piezoelectric properties in a flexible fabric that can be easily attached to cloth and can be laundered. The PowerFelt operates efficiently with small temperature differences and the combined piezotronic (thermoelectric and piezoelectric) power output is greater than the individual components indicating that there is a positive interaction between the phenomena. This project will build on previous development to demonstrate the feasibility of generating sufficient power to replace at least one battery.