Energy harvesting and storage textiles

C Anand, T.H. Shah University of Bolton, Bolton, United Kingdom 

2 Role of textile materials for energy harvesting and storage 363 

3 Development techniques for energy harvesting piezoelectric textiles 366 

The piezoelectric effect, discovered in 1880 by French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie, is defined as the linear electromechanical interaction between the mechanical and electrical state (in a crystalline material with no inversion symmetry), such that 

By using equations 12.3 and 12.4, the efficiency of energy conversion, representing the electromechanical coupling factor, is given by  

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Finally, the need for and development of smart textiles with innovatory features, and which dovetail with the continuing developments in nano- and microelectronics, are described in Chapter 12 (energy harvesting and storage). 

Energy issues are more and more important today. Smart textiles may offer important contributions for energy harvesting and production (flexible photovoltaic cells, wind mills, piezoelectric yams) and for energy storage (super capacitors, flexible batteries). 

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