The proposed research is comprised of three areas: (a) harvesting piezoelectric energy from beam structure flutter in air flow, (b) Palatal Flutter Model for Snoring/Apnea and (c) unobtrusive Wind Flow Monitoring by Laser Scintillation. The proposed method will be validated by wind tunnel testing.
Intellectual Merit
This work makes original contributions to: (a) the Continuum Theory of Axial as well as Normal Fluid Flow over a Structure such as a thin Beam: the Flutter speed and LCO amplitude (b) optimization theory for cantilever beam parameters to maximize the output power generated by the piezoelectric strips spanning the beam structure in Flutter (c) derivation of the Laser scintillation diode detector output zero crossing rate due to crosswind.
Broader Impact
The potential impact of includes the development of renewable energy methods based on harvesting piezoelectric energy from aeroelastic flutter. The proposed work has potential to provide quantitative understanding of Snoring/Apnea as aeroelastic flutter of the soft palate and possible means of remedy.
