CPD - Piezoelectric Materials in Construction: Energy Harvesting and Sensing

Piezoelectric materials are a good component as they can reduce the high consumption of energy by producing their own resources. This is because of its properties, which include quartz, tourmaline, topaz, and Rochelle salt. These materials have the ability to generate electricity if they are engaged with mechanical stress. Therefore, it can help the construction industry as an alternative option for providing electricity for a building. 

However, using piezoelectric depends on the condition with good vibrations. The more vibration a place has, the more electricity can be produced. This means the material only relies on the dynamic situation, which can only happen sometimes. Therefore, you can use this component in a place that has vibrations or movements, like train stations or buildings that are exposed to wind or seismic activity. However, you need to understand several things before using this material on those structures. To help you with that, our CPD programme provides you with the lessons.

What are piezoelectric materials?

Piezoelectric materials are substances that can produce electrical resources when they are subjected to mechanical stress. The production process of making this electrical resource is reversible. This means that when you put an amperage to these materials, they will slightly change their shape. These materials include bone, proteins, crystals, and ceramics.

Even though it is safe to use, piezoelectric contains lead, just like lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which is toxic. This is because this material contains a high concentration of lead oxide (PbO). PbO chemicals can cause medical problems and have an environmental impact. Therefore, the UK government is developing strategies to use lead-free options for this building substance. 

With this in mind, piezoelectric materials are used across various business industries, including automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, aerospace, manufacturing, and the construction sector. For example, you can use piezoelectric as a tool to measure structural health monitoring. This device will act as a sensor to detect vibration or stress changes that potentially lead to the collapse of a building.

Importance of piezoelectric materials for making a building

Piezoelectric materials are important in the building sector as they have several benefits that impact the process of building a structure. For example, you can use a piezoelectric component in concrete or other building substances to monitor the quality. It will detect the small changes in a building’s stress and strain for early detection to prevent damage. Therefore, piezoelectric power is necessary for the whole process. With this in mind, below are the benefits you may get from using these substances in your worksite, such as:

• Power harvesting: Piezoelectric parts can help you generate usable electricity by changing the building’s vibration into power. You can use this resource to power the lighting, sensors, and power grid of the structure.
• Structural health monitoring: Attaching the piezoelectric materials to the building parts can help you continuously monitor the pressure levels and detect potential structural damages early. This lowers the chance of it collapsing and causing damage.
• Lower environmental impact: Using piezoelectric materials can help you reduce the carbon footprint by making electricity from a building’s vibrations instead of traditional resources. This creates options for protecting high energy consumption.

Course Brief

In the construction industry, using piezoelectric materials brings good things by taking energy from methods other than traditional resources. This enables you to power small electrical devices and make the building greener by producing power from the surrounding motions. These can be from foot traffic or wind sway. However, the amount of electricity produced is a bit small.

In this case, piezoelectric materials can only produce a limited amount of electricity because they can only make power when there is motion or pressure. Hence, you need to understand how to optimise the resource without hurting nature. To help you with that, you can learn from a special course that will walk you through everything you need to understand about this component.  

Syllabus

Many people are using piezoelectric materials in building structures. This is because it has several advantages, and it can make the building process easier and safer for the environment. For example, it uses renewable energy that can lower the use of sources at the site. With this, you can contribute to the building’s energy supply while meeting eco-friendly goals. Therefore, this course covers several parts of piezoelectric substances. By the end of the training, you will be expected to:

1. Understand the fundamentals of piezoelectric materials
2. Know how piezoelectric substances work for the construction industry
3. Explain the effects of the component that can produce electricity
4. Identify the problems this component may bring to the building worksite
5. Learn the best practices to use this material for building a structure

Entry Criteria

We created this CPD - Piezoelectric Materials in Construction: Energy Harvesting and Sensing programme for those who work in the construction industry. This training can be taken by contractors, architects, civil engineers, electrical technicians, and researchers. However, we also welcome everyone from all backgrounds, even those without relevant experience. That’s why the requirement of this programme doesn’t need any formal educational background or experience.  

What are the disadvantages of piezoelectric?

Despite its benefits highlighted above, piezoelectric also comes with several disadvantages, such as low output and environmental sensitivity, and it is not suitable for static conditions. These disadvantages exist because of several factors. One of them includes the contained properties in the materials. Because of this, piezoelectric materials are classified into two groups, including natural and manmade.

The components that are included in the natural groups include quartz, topaz, tourmaline group minerals, Rochelle salt, silk, wood, rubber, dentin, bone, hair, and enamel. Meanwhile, the manmade group consists of three types: polymers, ceramics, and compositae-based materials. These can bring difficulty for piezoelectricity. For example, polymers show better results, but they have a lower piezoelectric constant. This means the output is not optimal. To understand more about the disadvantages, below are the lists you need to understand:

Low output

Piezoelectric can generate electricity without using additional energy. However, the amount of electricity produced is small because it generates a voltage only when experiencing pressure or stress. So, if there are no vibrations, it won’t produce any power, and it can’t help the building to supply its needs. 

Environmental sensitivity

Temperature and humidity changes are affecting the piezoelectric materials. In this case, this substance becomes less stiff as the temperature increases. It results in a reduced response and lower natural frequency. At the same time, humidity changes can lead to water uptake on the piezoelectric top layer. This can ruin the electrical path and lower its performance. 

High cost

As smart materials, piezoelectric materials need a lot of money for the initial investment. This is because of the substance's composition, complex production processes, special tools, and raw materials that are hard to find. These all can make the most complicated and expensive. It is especially high if you want to make certain materials that need special techniques.

Best practices to use piezoelectric materials in the construction industry

The best practice for using piezoelectric materials in making a structure is to combine them with the building components, like floors, walls, and roofs. This combination aims to help you make electricity from background movement that is caused by human activity, wind, or traffic. You can use this to power the building systems, and it can be utilised as a sensor to conduct structural health monitoring. 

To help you learn more about piezoelectric, the College of Contract Management created a CPD programme that talks about how vibration can make electricity and its impact on the building sector. This training aims to widen your understanding and equip you with knowledge, as well as a course on how this component works for the construction industry.

This CPD - Piezoelectric Materials in Construction: Energy Harvesting and Sensing course provides valuable lessons. The course schedule will be announced accordingly because we are currently working on arranging the speakers and materials. Therefore, we encourage you to contact our team if you have any questions or need further assistance. We are ready to help you.