Specialty Fabrics Review October 2021 - 57

research would be to provide a green
energy source for buildings.
The process for energy harvesting in
this way uses wind-induced vibration
generated in the membrane with the
conversion brought about primarily
by electrostatic, electromagnetic or
piezoelectric transduction methods.
Both glass fiber and polyester
membranes with a longitudinal
stiffness of 54,720 and 25,200 newton
centimeters respectively were used
for the studies.
The researchers have undertaken
computer simulation tests using
Kangaroo Grasshopper's plug-in to
determine the correlation between
the structure's stability and energyharvesting
performance. To assess
the wind during a simulation, a
combination of wind vector and
amplitude components were used,
taken from Global Wind Atlas data.
The TMA energy-harvesting research
to date has looked at three different
membrane structure designs-
hypar, conic and barrel vault. All are
commonly used in solar shade: hypar
having alternating high and low points,
conic consisting of a square base
support and a top ring, and barrel vault
shape being comprised of two elliptical
curves that are found at the ends of
two parallel lines.
Maeng and Hyun found that the
shapes that yielded maximum energy
efficiency through the whole material
stiffness range were the conic and
barrel vault designs. The material
stiffness has been found to influence
electricity generation differently in the
hypar design. The researchers point to
the significance of both a low material
stiffness and the selection of the TMA
geometry most suited to the location
as determined by prevalent wind
direction being necessary to achieve
maximum energy efficiency.
The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), the United
Nations body tasked with assessing
the science related to climate change,
released a special report on the impacts
of global warming of 1.5 degrees (C) in
2018. Among the findings is a warning
that urban areas will experience the
worst impacts of heat waves due to
the urban heat island effect, which
keeps them warmer than surrounding
rural areas. The need for solar shade,
particularly smart and energyharvesting
shade, has surely never
been greater than it is today.
Dr. Marie O'Mahony is an industry consultant, author
and academic. She is the author of several books on
advanced and smart textiles published by Thames
and Hudson, and is a visiting professor at the Royal
College of Art (RCA), London.
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Specialty Fabrics Review October 2021

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