Design and characterisation of the out-of-plane dielectric elastomer generator for wave energy harvesting

Dielectric elastomers capable of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy have been extensively explored for wave energy harvesting. Among existing designs, a widely adopted approach involves a circular dome-shaped dielectric elastomer chamber, where air pressure between the water and the generator drives energy conversion. To enhance deployment feasibility, this paper proposes a novel point-absorber-inspired wave energy converter based on an out-of-plane dielectric elastomer generator (ODEG), which transforms linear mechanical motion into electrical energy through the buoy. A scaled-down prototype was designed and fabricated. The self-priming circuit was proposed for the ODEG to ensure continuous multi-cycle energy harvesting by autonomously replenishing the charge. This approach enabled efficiency to increase with cycle number and displacement amplitude. Furthermore, a constitutive model was developed to optimise the ODEG design and evaluate its energy conversion efficiency. The experimental investigation evaluated the performance of the ODEG under varying wave frequencies, amplitudes, and cycle numbers. The results demonstrated that the ODEG prototype was capable of harvesting wave energy across a frequency range of 0.1–1 Hz and a wave amplitude range of 30–50 mm. Specifically, the voltage boosted from 1.4 kV to 4.5 kV after 40 wave cycles at an amplitude of 50 mm

A novel 24 GHz circularly polarised metasurface rectenna

A novel 24 GHz circularly polarised metasurface rectenna for wireless power transmission is designed in this study. Based on experimental measurements and retro‐simulation, an effective approach is proposed to extract the parasitic parameters of a Schottky diode. A highly efficient millimetre wave rectifier with a measured efficiency of 63% is constructed based on the exact equivalent circuit parameters of a diode. A circularly polarised metasurface antenna is adopted as the receiving antenna, and the gain is enhanced by introducing metal vias around the metasurface. The antenna and the rectifier are connected directly via a microstrip line. Measurements show that the metasurface antenna has a gain of 11.3 dBic and an axial ratio of 2.5 dB at 24 GHz. The measured conversion efficiency of the rectenna reaches 63% at 300 Ω load when the input power is 15.2 dBm. The rectenna has the advantages of low profile, which can be conformal to the electrical equipment

Design and characterisation of the out-of-plane dielectric elastomer generator for wave energy harvesting

Dielectric elastomers capable of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy have been extensively explored for wave energy harvesting. Among existing designs, a widely adopted approach involves a circular dome-shaped dielectric elastomer chamber, where air pressure between the water and the generator drives energy conversion. To enhance deployment feasibility, this paper proposes a novel point-absorber-inspired wave energy converter based on an out-of-plane dielectric elastomer generator (ODEG), which transforms linear mechanical motion into electrical energy through the buoy. A scaled-down prototype was designed and fabricated. The self-priming circuit was proposed for the ODEG to ensure continuous multi-cycle energy harvesting by autonomously replenishing the charge. This approach enabled efficiency to increase with cycle number and displacement amplitude. Furthermore, a constitutive model was developed to optimise the ODEG design and evaluate its energy conversion efficiency. The experimental investigation evaluated the performance of the ODEG under varying wave frequencies, amplitudes, and cycle numbers. The results demonstrated that the ODEG prototype was capable of harvesting wave energy across a frequency range of 0.1–1 Hz and a wave amplitude range of 30–50 mm. Specifically, the voltage boosted from 1.4 kV to 4.5 kV after 40 wave cycles at an amplitude of 50 mm

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Genetic Basis of the Resveratrol Biosynthesis Pathway in an Endophytic Fungus (Alternaria sp. MG1) Isolated From Vitis vinifera

Alternaria sp. MG1, an endophytic fungus previously isolated from Merlot grape, produces resveratrol from glucose, showing similar metabolic flux to the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, currently found solely in plants. In order to identify the resveratrol biosynthesis pathway in this strain at the gene level, de novo transcriptome sequencing was conducted using Illumina paired-end sequencing. A total of 22,954,434 high-quality reads were assembled into contigs and 18,570 unigenes were identified. Among these unigenes, 14,153 were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database and 5,341 were annotated in the Swiss-Prot database. After KEGG mapping, 2,701 unigenes were mapped onto 115 pathways. Eighty-four unigenes were annotated in major pathways from glucose to resveratrol, coding 20 enzymes for glycolysis, 10 for phenylalanine biosynthesis, 4 for phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and 4 for stilbenoid biosynthesis. Chalcone synthase was identified for resveratrol biosynthesis in this strain, due to the absence of stilbene synthase. All the identified enzymes indicated a reasonable biosynthesis pathway from glucose to resveratrol via glycolysis, phenylalanine biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and stilbenoid pathways. These results provide essential evidence for the occurrence of resveratrol biosynthesis in Alternaria sp. MG1 at the gene level, facilitating further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in this strain’s secondary metabolism