Study of an Impact Driven Frequency Up-Conversion Piezoelectric Harvester

Author(s):  
Amin Abedini ◽  
Saeed Onsorynezhad ◽  
Fengxia Wang

Frequency up-conversion is an effective way to increase the output power from a piezoelectric beam, which converts the ambient low-frequency vibration to the resonant vibration of the piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEH) to achieve high electric power output. Frequency up-conversion technologies are realized via impact or non-impact magnetic force to mediate the interaction between the driving beam and the generating beam. Most studies focus on the either linear model prediction or experimental verification of the linear analysis. Few, if any, study the effects of the impact induced nonlinear phenomena on power generation efficiency. In this work, we investigate how to use discontinuous theory to improve the power efficiency of the frequency up-conversion process caused by impacts. The energy harvesting performance of a piezoelectric beam in interaction with a softer beam in periodic motion is studied. The discontinuous dynamical system theory is applied to this problem to study the piezoelectric behavior under periodic motions and its bifurcations. The beams are modeled with two spring-mass-damper systems, and the analytical model of the piezoelectric beam is created based on the linear mechanical-electrical constitutive law of the piezoelectric material, and the linear elastic constitutive law of the substrate. Based on the theoretical model, the analytical solution of the output power is derived in terms of the vibration amplitude, frequency, and the electrical load. The soft beam is subjected to a sinusoidal base excitation, and the impacts of the more flexible beam excite the piezoelectric beam. The performance of the energy harvesting of period one and period two motions have been studied and bifurcation trees for impact velocities, times, displacements and harvested power versus the frequency of the base excitation are obtained.

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 1930029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Abedini ◽  
Saeed Onsorynezhad ◽  
Fengxia Wang

Frequency up-conversion has been proved to be an effective approach to increase the output power of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH). The proposed system can convert low-frequency vibration from ambient sources to the resonant vibration of the PEH hence can improve the output power efficiency. Frequency up-conversion technologies are introduced via impact or nonimpact magnetic forces to initiate the repeated free oscillations of the piezoelectric generator. No matter impact- or nonimpact-driven PEHs, most studies focus on either finite element simulation or experimental demonstration of PEHs electric power generations. Few, if any, study the effects of the impact-induced discontinuous dynamics on power generation efficiency. In this work, the energy harvesting performance of a piezoelectric beam upon interaction with a softer driving beam was studied. The discontinuous dynamics behind this impact-driven PEH was investigated, and strategies exploited to further improve the power efficiency of the frequency up-conversion process. Based on the linear elastic and linear mechanical-electrical constitutive laws, the lumped parameter models were built for both the driving beam and the piezoelectric driven beam. The numerical solution of the output power is obtained based on the vibration amplitude, frequency, and the electrical load. The soft beam is subjected to a sinusoidal base excitation, and the piezoelectric beam was excited via impacting with the soft driving beam. Based on the discontinuous dynamics theory, the performance of the energy harvesting of the impact-driven system was studied for period-1 and period-2 motions. Based on the stability and bifurcation analysis of periodic solutions, bifurcation diagrams of impact velocities, times, displacements and harvested power versus the frequency of the base excitation were also obtained, and compared to the power generation of a piezoelectric beam with base excitation.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 3516 ◽  
Author(s):  
He ◽  
Wang ◽  
Zhong ◽  
Guan

This paper proposes a novel energy harvesting floor structure using piezoelectric elements for converting energy from human steps into electricity. The piezoelectric energy harvesting structure was constructed by a force amplification mechanism and a double-layer squeezing structure in which piezoelectric beams were deployed. The generated electrical voltage and output power were investigated in practical conditions under different strokes and step frequencies. The maximum peak-to-peak voltage was found to be 51.2 V at a stroke of 5 mm and a step frequency of 1.81 Hz. In addition, the corresponding output power for a single piezoelectric beam was tested to be 134.2 μW, demonstrating the potential of harvesting energy from the pedestrians for powering low-power electronic devices.


2014 ◽  
Vol 976 ◽  
pp. 159-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Ambrosio ◽  
Hector Gonzalez ◽  
Mario Moreno ◽  
Alfonso Torres ◽  
Rafael Martinez ◽  
...  

In this work is presented a study of a piezoelectric energy harvesting device used for low power consumption applications operating at relative low frequency. The structure consists of a cantilever beam made by Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) layer with two gold electrodes for electrical contacts. The piezoelectric material was selected taking into account its high coupling coefficients. Different structures were analyzed with variations in its dimensions and shape of the cantilever. The devices were designed to operate at the resonance frequency to get maximum electrical power output. The structures were simulated using finite element (FE) software. The analysis of the harvesting devices was performed in order to investigate the influence of the geometric parameters on the output power and the natural frequency. To validate the simulation results, an experiment with a PZT cantilever with brass substrate was carried out. The experimental data was found to be very close to simulation data. The results indicate that large structures, in the order of millimeters, are the ideal for piezoelectric energy harvesting devices providing a maximum output power in the range of mW


Author(s):  
Sam Fallahpasand ◽  
Morteza Dardel

In many studies, linear or small deflections according to Von Karman strain model are used for energy harvesting of beam’s structures. Analyses of these types are not reliable when deformations become large. In this work, an integro-differential equation of highly flexible cantilever beam with a piezoelectric layer is presented. The harvester is composed of a thin flexible beam with attached piezoceramic which undergoes large deformations. Periodic and chaotic oscillations and their effects on the quality of harvesting energy procedure are investigated. The obtained results showed that chaotic oscillations improve energy harvesting. This means that large deflections in high-flexible electromechanical systems let harvester to gather more energy from the external source in a much wider frequency domain. Fast Fourier transform shows the emerging lots of resonance peaks in the chaotic region, which give cascade of resonances for this highly nonlinear beam. Moreover, it is discussed how this mechanism and its frequency characteristics enhances the quality and quantity of energy harvesting. The present study show how increasing the flexibility of structure can lead to high deflection and obtaining broadband energy harvesting with better energy harvesting characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh R. Palikhel ◽  
Tyrus A. McCarty ◽  
Jagdish P. Sharma

Abstract Vibrational energy from intermodal transport system can be recovered through the application of piezoelectric energy harvesting system. The intermodal vibration sources are passenger cars and freight trucks moving on streets and highways, trains moving on railway tracks and planes moving on airport runways. However, the primary limiting factor of the application of the piezoelectric energy harvesting system has been the insignificant power output for power storage or to directly power electrical device. A special nano-mixture coating is developed to enhance the energy harvesting capability of the conventional piezoelectric material. This research investigates the impact of the nano-mixture coating on the power output. The experimental results of the nano-mixture coated system show substantial and explicit improvement on the power output. Alternative geometrical designs, trapezoidal and triangular are explored in anticipation for improved power output. But the rectangular energy harvester demonstrates better power harvesting capability. The results presented in this paper show the potential of the nano-mixture coating in power harvesting from intermodal transport system.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 1409-1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuong P Le ◽  
Einar Halvorsen ◽  
Oddvar Søråsen ◽  
Eric M Yeatman

This article presents a new concept for electrostatic energy harvesting devices that increase output power under displacement limited inertial mass motion at sufficiently large acceleration amplitudes. The concept is illustrated by two demonstrated electrostatic energy harvesting prototypes in the same die dimension: a reference device with end-stops and an impact device with movable end-stops functioning as slave transducers. Both devices are analyzed and characterized in small and large excitation regimes. We found that significant additional energy from the internal impact force can be harvested by the slave transducer. The impact device gives much higher, up to a factor of 3.7, total output power than the reference device at the same high-acceleration amplitude. The bandwidth of the response to frequency sweeps is beneficially enlarged by up to a factor of 20 by the nonlinear mechanisms of the impact device.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
He Zhang ◽  
Kangxu Huang ◽  
Zhicheng Zhang ◽  
Tao Xiang ◽  
Liwei Quan

Scavenging mechanical energy from the deformation of roadways using piezoelectric energy transformers has been intensively explored and exhibits a promising potential for engineering applications. We propose here a new packaging method that exploits MC nylon and epoxy resin as the main protective materials for the piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) device. Wheel tracking tests are performed, and an electromechanical model is developed to double evaluate the efficiency of the PEH device. Results indicate that reducing the embedded depth of the piezoelectric chips may enhance the output power of the PEH device. A simple scaling law is established to show that the normalized output power of the energy harvesting system relies on two combined parameters, i.e., the normalized electrical resistive load and normalized embedded depth. It suggests that the output power of the system may be maximized by properly selecting the geometrical, material, and circuit parameters in a combined manner. This strategy might also provide a useful guideline for optimization of piezoelectric energy harvesting system in practical roadway applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinlei Fu ◽  
Wei-Hsin Liao

Nonharmonic excitations are widely distributed in the environment. They can work as energy sources of vibration energy harvesters for powering wireless electronics. To overcome the narrow bandwidth of linear vibration energy harvesters, plucking piezoelectric energy harvesters have been designed. Plucking piezoelectric energy harvesters can convert sporadic motions into plucking force to excite vibration energy harvesters and achieve broadband performances. Though different kinds of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesters have been designed, the plucking mechanism is not well understood. The simplified models of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesting neglect the dynamic interaction between the plectrum and the piezoelectric beam. This research work is aimed at investigating the plucking mechanism and developing a comprehensive model of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesting. In this paper, the dynamic plucking mechanism is investigated and the Hertzian contact theory is applied. The developed model of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesting accounts for the dynamic interaction between the plectrum and the piezoelectric beam by considering contact theory. Experimental results show that the developed model well predicts the responses of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesters under different plucking velocities and overlap lengths. Parametric studies are conducted on the dimensionless model after choosing appropriate scaling. The influences of plucking velocity and overlap length on energy harvesting performance and energy conversion efficiency are discussed. The comprehensive model helps investigate the characteristics and guide the design of plucking piezoelectric energy harvesters.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Zamani Kouhpanji

This study represents effects of an elastic support on the power generation and storage capability of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices. The governing equations were derived and solved for a piezoelectric energy harvesting device made of elastic support, multilayer piezoelectric beam, and a proof mass at its free end. Furthermore, a Thevenin model for a rechargeable battery was considered for storage of the produced power of the piezoelectric energy harvesting device. Analyzing the time-domain and frequency-domain responses of the piezoelectric energy harvesting device on an elastic support shows that the elastic deformation of the support significantly reduces the power generation and storage capability of the device. It was also found that the power generation and storage capability of the piezoelectric energy harvesting device can be enhanced by choosing appropriate physical parameters of the piezoelectric beam even if the elastic properties of the support are poor relative to elastic properties of the piezoelectric beam. These results provide an insightful understanding for designing and material selection for the support in order to reach the highest possible power generation and storage capability for piezoelectric energy harvesting devices.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1188-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panduranga Vittal Avvari ◽  
Yaowen Yang ◽  
Chee Kiong Soh

Piezoelectric energy harvesting has attracted extensive research in the advancement of new designs and techniques over the last decade. The cantilever shaped piezoelectric energy harvesting beam is one of the most employed designs, due to its simplicity and flexibility for further performance enhancement. The strain distribution along the cantilever piezoelectric energy harvesting beam is nonuniform, which would induce fatigue damage at the root of the cantilever on the long run. This particular issue has seldom been addressed in the literature. This article presents an experimental investigation on the fatigue behavior of a cantilever piezoelectric energy harvesting beam at different base excitation levels. The experimental study is augmented with analytical formulation to examine the strain levels and with finite element analysis formulation to model the piezoelectric energy harvesting beam with a macro fiber composite piezoelectric transducer. A two-dimensional model is developed based on the three-dimensional model to investigate crack propagation in the piezoelectric energy harvesting beam. Furthermore, the electromechanical impedance technique is employed to monitor the progression of damage in the experimental specimens. The root mean square deviation and relative root mean square deviation of the impedance values and voltage obtained from the macro fiber composite transducer provide a profound introspection into the damage propagation in the piezoelectric energy harvesting beam. This study provides an insight into the behavior of the piezoelectric energy harvesting beam undergoing fatigue loading due to a uniform sinusoidal base excitation by analyzing the output voltage, resonant frequency, tip displacement, tip velocity, and impedance variations. It will pave the way for future studies on the fatigue-based design guides for piezoelectric energy harvesting beams.


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