Temperature induced electromagnetic radiation energy harvesting characteristics of cement/PZT composites

This investigation highlights the temperature dependent electromagnetic radiation (EMR) energy harvesting characteristics of cement/PZT composites under varying heating conditions (temperature range 50-100?C). Four different composites were prepared by replacing cement with different volume fractions (? = 0.02, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20) of soft grade PZT powder (SP 5A). The tests were performed to ensure the quality of cement, consistency and soundness. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction technique to ascertain the composite structure formation. The capacitance of the composites increases with the temperature and filler content. The correlations between EMR parameters viz. EMR voltage, dominant frequency, EMR DC voltage and EMR generated energy with temperature and filler content were studied thoroughly. These parameters were found to increase with temperature and filler content. The maximum EMR voltage, dominant frequency, EMR DC voltage and EMR generated energy recorded at peak temperature (100?C) were found to be 3.3 V, 150 KHz, 847mV and 0.1613 ?J, respectively, for the composite having ? = 0.20. Also, EMR generated energy was found to increase with capacitance value of the capacitors. The results obtained underscore the potential of the studied composites for their use in the sensor technology besides energy harvesting applications.