Piezoelectric Usage Areas
Piezoelectric materials are used as energy generators. Piezoelectric material can be used in MP3 players, phones, etc. can produce enough energy. The sole of the shoe can be produced from piezoelectric materials. Electricity production can be achieved with every step taken. It can be stored in batteries or used directly for use in personal electronic devices.
The piezo effect is also used in microphones. The piezoelectric material produces signals with the pressure coming from the sound waves created by the sound, and these signals are amplified and reach the speaker.
The energy of street lamps and shops can be produced from the pressure exerted by people when stepping on the ground on streets that are constantly used, that is, with dense crowds of people.
What is Piezoelectric Crystal Lightning Rod?
1. Working Principle
A simple lightning arresting mechanism in the form of a rod, one end of which is in contact with the ground, serves as protection by changing the equipotentials appropriate to the structure of the building on which it is located, within its own level.
'Lightning rod' is an important factor in increasing the local electric field. The working method of Piezoelectric crystal lightning rods developed by Franklin France; It is based on the principles of "expanding the local electric field by reinforcement" and "creating an early preferred discharge channel".
Piezoelectric crystal lightning rod mainly consists of the following components.
1 a. Capture Head
It is a product designed from a highly conductive material that will not undergo physical deformation due to corrosive effects. Thanks to its special design, it helps polarization occur faster by providing high airflow. (Venturi System: Air inlets and peripheral sprayers)
1.b. Venturi Pipe
It is placed in an insulated sleeve and subjected to free voltage by piezoelectric crystals, and consists of wrought copper (or stainless steel, depending on the model) with one or more ion-emitting points at the top.
1.c. Transducer
(Piezoelectric Stimulator) Consisting of piezoelectric crystals located at the bottom of the Venturi tube and compressed in an insulating casing; It is a completely reliable system combined with a mechanical stimulator. The high voltage cable running inside the pole connects the exciter to the emitter end. The voltage created by the crystal reaches the emitter end via the high voltage cable.
2. Piezoelectric Stimulation
Piezoelectric crystal lightning rod; It is equipped with a mechanical device that converts the tension created on itself as a result of wind movement into pressure through piezoelectric cells. The voltage produced in this way is towards the ionized ends via the high voltage cable inside the venturi tube; It progresses to create free charges with the corona effect. These charges are spread into the atmosphere through the "venturi system" located inside the lightning rod and shaped to create air circulation and are presented into the cloud-soil electric field. These charges occurring in the lightning rod extension are charged in the opposite direction of the electric pole of the cloud (positive or negative depending on the charge of the cloud) due to the polarization that occurs as the cloud is pushed towards the ground.
3. Corona Effect Warning Shortening Time
In line with the information obtained from various researches, it is known that the piezoelectric ionization system shortens the corona warning time as a result of the following effects. These effects are: To provide an increase in the local electric field. To ensure that the electron nucleus, which is necessary for the excitation process but is rare in the atmosphere, exists at the lightning capture point. To ensure the formation of an increasingly proliferating ionized air channel within the lightning rod extension.
4. Preferential Capture Feature
The "excitation support" function of piezoelectric crystal lightning rods increases the possibility of catching lightning in phases where the electrostatic field has low values. Thus, they have the feature of being the preferred impact point by preventing any impact from occurring to any point of the structure they protect. Therefore, it provides much superior protection compared to other lightning rods and arresting rods.
5.Effective Protection in Open Area
The protection areas of lightning rods are obtained in theory by creating an electro-geometric model plan. In practice, the calculation is made on a cone whose vertex represents the lightning rod tip.
NFC 17-102 French Standard is related to lightning rods emitting premature current; It involves predetermining the lightning risk assessment of each project with Np (protection level calculation) ranging from 1 to 4.
The protection radii (Rp) of piezoelectric crystalline lightning rods, which vary depending on how high (H) they are from the point they want to protect and the excitation distance (D), are shown in the table below.
