A Piezoelectric Based Energy Harvester With Dynamic Magnification

Author(s):  
Davide Castagnetti

Energy harvesting from ambient vibrations exploiting piezoelectric materials is an efficient solution for the development of self-sustainable electronic nodes. This work presents a simple and innovative piezoelectric energy harvester, intrinsically including dynamic magnification and inspired by fractal geometry. After an initial design step, computational analysis and experimental validation show a very good frequency response with five eigenfrequencies below 100 Hz. Even if the piezoelectric transducers were put only on a symmetric half of the top surface of the structure, the energy conversion is good for all the eigenfrequencies investigated.

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1537
Author(s):  
Neetu Kumari ◽  
Micky Rakotondrabe

In recent years, energy harvesting from ambient vibrations using piezoelectric materials has become the center of attention due to the fact that it has the potential to replace batteries, providing an easy way to power wireless and low power sensors and electronic devices. Piezoelectric material has been extensively used in energy harvesting technologies. However, the most commercially available and widely used piezoelectric materials are lead-based, Pb [ZrxTi1−x] O3 (PZT), which contains more than 60 weight percent lead (Pb). Due to its extremely hazardous effects on lead elements, there is a strong need to substitute PZT with new lead-free materials that have comparable properties to those of PZT. Lead-free lithium niobate (LiNbO3) piezoelectric material can be considered as a substitute for lead-based piezoelectric materials for vibrational energy scavenging applications. LiNbO3 crystal has a lower dielectric constant comparison to the conventional piezoceramics (for instance, PZT); however, at the same time, LiNbO3 (LN) single crystal presents a figure of merits similar to that of PZT, which makes it the most suitable choice for a vibrational energy harvester based on lead-free materials. The implementation was carried out using a global optimization approach including a thick single-crystal film on a metal substrate with optimized clamped capacitance for better impedance matching conditions. A lot of research shows that standard designs such as linear piezoelectric energy harvesters are not a prominent solution as they can only operate in a narrow bandwidth because of their single high resonant peak in their frequency spectrum. In this paper, we propose, and experimentally validate, a novel lead-free piezoelectric energy harvester to harness electrical energy from wideband, low-frequency, and low-amplitude ambient vibration. To reach this target, the harvester is designed to combine multi-frequency and nonlinear techniques. The proposed energy harvesting system consists of six piezoelectric cantilevers of different sizes and different resonant frequencies. Each is based on lead-free lithium niobate piezoelectric material coupled with a shape memory alloy (nitinol) substrate. The design is in the form of a circular ring to which the cantilevers are embedded to create nonlinear behavior when excited with ambient vibrations. The finite element simulation and the experimental results confirm that the proposed lead-free harvester design is efficient at low frequencies, particularly different frequencies below 250 Hz.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 5951
Author(s):  
Carlos Quiterio Gómez Muñoz ◽  
Gabriel Zamacola Alcalde ◽  
Fausto Pedro García Márquez

The main drawback in many electronic devices is the duration of their batteries. Energy harvesting provides a solution for these low-consumption devices. Piezoelectric energy harvesting use is growing because it collects small amounts of clean energy and transforms it to electricity. Synthetic piezoelectric materials are a feasible alternative to generate energy for low consumption systems. In addition to the energy generation, each pressure cycle in the piezoelectric material can provide information for the device, for example, counting the passage of people. The main contribution of this work is to study, build, and test a low-cost energy harvesting floor using piezoelectric transducers to estimate the amount of energy that could be produced for a connected device. Several piezoelectric transducers have been employed and analyzed, providing accurate results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shashank Priya ◽  
Hyun-Cheol Song ◽  
Yuan Zhou ◽  
Ronnie Varghese ◽  
Anuj Chopra ◽  
...  

Abstract Piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (PiezoMEMS) are attractive for developing next generation self-powered microsystems. PiezoMEMS promises to eliminate the costly assembly for microsensors/microsystems and provide various mechanisms for recharging the batteries, thereby, moving us closer towards batteryless wireless sensors systems and networks. In order to achieve practical implementation of this technology, a fully assembled energy harvester on the order of a quarter size dollar coin (diameter=24.26 mm, thickness=1.75 mm) should be able to generate about 100 μW continuous power from low frequency ambient vibrations (below 100 Hz). This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in microscale piezoelectric energy harvesting, summarizing key metrics such as power density and bandwidth of reported structures at low frequency input. This paper also describes the recent advancements in piezoelectric materials and resonator structures. Epitaxial growth and grain texturing of piezoelectric materials is being developed to achieve much higher energy conversion efficiency. For embedded medical systems, lead-free piezoelectric thin films are being developed and MEMS processes for these new classes of materials are being investigated. Non-linear resonating beams for wide bandwidth resonance are also reviewed as they would enable wide bandwidth and low frequency operation of energy harvesters. Particle/granule spray deposition techniques such as aerosol-deposition (AD) and granule spray in vacuum (GSV) are being matured to realize the meso-scale structures in a rapid manner. Another important element of an energy harvester is a power management circuit, which should maximize the net energy harvested. Towards this objective, it is essential for the power management circuit of a small-scale energy harvester to dissipate minimal power, and thus it requires special circuit design techniques and a simple maximum power point tracking scheme. Overall, the progress made by the research and industrial community has brought the energy harvesting technology closer to the practical applications in near future.


Author(s):  
M. Carrara ◽  
M. R. Cacan ◽  
J. Toussaint ◽  
M. J. Leamy ◽  
M. Ruzzene ◽  
...  

Enhancement of structure-borne wave energy harvesting is investigated by exploiting metamaterial-based and metamaterial-inspired electroelastic systems. The concepts of wave focusing, funneling, and localization are leveraged to establish novel Metamaterial–Energy Harvester (MEH) configurations. The MEH system transforms the incoming structure-borne wave energy into electrical energy by coupling the metamaterial and electroelastic domains. The energy harvesting component of the work employs piezoelectric transduction due to the high power density and ease of application offered by piezoelectric materials. Therefore, in all MEH configurations studied in this work, the metamaterial system is combined with piezoelectric energy harvesting for enhanced electricity generation from waves propagating in elastic structures. Experiments are conducted to validate the dramatic performance enhancement in MEH systems as compared to using the same volume of piezoelectric patch in the absence of the metamaterial component. It is shown that MEH systems can be used for both broadband and tuned wave energy harvesting. Examples include (1) wave guiding using an acoustic funnel, (2) wave focusing using a metamaterial-inspired elliptical acoustic mirror (both for broadband energy harvesting), and (3) energy localization using an imperfection in a 2-D lattice structure (for tuned energy harvesting).


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Elahi ◽  
Marco Eugeni ◽  
Paolo Gaudenzi

From last few decades, piezoelectric materials have played a vital role as a mechanism of energy harvesting, as they have the tendency to absorb energy from the environment and transform it to electrical energy that can be used to drive electronic devices directly or indirectly. The power of electronic circuits has been cut down to nano or micro watts, which leads towards the development of self-designed piezoelectric transducers that can overcome power generation problems and can be self-powered. Moreover, piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) can reduce the need for batteries, resulting in optimization of the weight of structures. These mechanisms are of great interest for many researchers, as piezoelectric transducers are capable of generating electric voltage in response to thermal, electrical, mechanical and electromagnetic input. In this review paper, Fluid Structure Interaction-based, human-based, and vibration-based energy harvesting mechanisms were studied. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative analysis of existing PEH mechanisms has been carried out.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 3512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina Covaci ◽  
Aurel Gontean

The goal of this paper is to review current methods of energy harvesting, while focusing on piezoelectric energy harvesting. The piezoelectric energy harvesting technique is based on the materials’ property of generating an electric field when a mechanical force is applied. This phenomenon is known as the direct piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectric transducers can be of different shapes and materials, making them suitable for a multitude of applications. To optimize the use of piezoelectric devices in applications, a model is needed to observe the behavior in the time and frequency domain. In addition to different aspects of piezoelectric modeling, this paper also presents several circuits used to maximize the energy harvested.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3151
Author(s):  
Shuo Yang ◽  
Bin Wu ◽  
Xiucheng Liu ◽  
Mingzhi Li ◽  
Heying Wang ◽  
...  

In this study, a novel piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) based on the array composite spherical particle chain was constructed and explored in detail through simulation and experimental verification. The power test of the PEH based on array composite particle chains in the self-powered system was realized. Firstly, the model of PEH based on the composite spherical particle chain was constructed to theoretically realize the collection, transformation, and storage of impact energy, and the advantages of a composite particle chain in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting were verified. Secondly, an experimental system was established to test the performance of the PEH, including the stability of the system under a continuous impact load, the power adjustment under different resistances, and the influence of the number of particle chains on the energy harvesting efficiency. Finally, a self-powered supply system was established with the PEH composed of three composite particle chains to realize the power supply of the microelectronic components. This paper presents a method of collecting impact energy based on particle chain structure, and lays an experimental foundation for the application of a composite particle chain in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungryong Bae ◽  
Pilkee Kim

In this study, optimization of the external load resistance of a piezoelectric bistable energy harvester was performed for primary harmonic (period-1T) and subharmonic (period-3T) interwell motions. The analytical expression of the optimal load resistance was derived, based on the spectral analyses of the interwell motions, and evaluated. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with the numerical ones. A parametric study shows that the optimal load resistance depended on the forcing frequency, but not the intensity of the ambient vibration. Additionally, it was found that the optimal resistance for the period-3T interwell motion tended to be approximately three times larger than that for the period-1T interwell motion, which means that the optimal resistance was directly affected by the oscillation frequency (or oscillation period) of the motion rather than the forcing frequency. For broadband energy harvesting applications, the subharmonic interwell motion is also useful, in addition to the primary harmonic interwell motion. In designing such piezoelectric bistable energy harvesters, the frequency dependency of the optimal load resistance should be considered properly depending on ambient vibrations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
YingZheng Liu ◽  
ZhaoMin Cao

A concept of energy harvesting from vortex-induced vibrations of a rigid circular cylinder with two piezoelectric beams attached is investigated. The variations of the power levels with the free stream velocity are determined. A mathematical approach including the coupled cylinder motion and harvested voltage is presented. The effects of the load resistance, piezoelectric materials, and circuit combined on the natural frequency and damping of the vibratory system are determined by performing a linear analysis. The dynamic response of the cylinder and harvested energy are investigated. The results show that the harvested level in SS and SP&PS modes is the same with different values of load resistance. For four different system parameters, the results show that the bigger size of cylinder with PZT beams can obtain the higher harvested power.


2016 ◽  
Vol 09 (05) ◽  
pp. 1650069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaoze Liu ◽  
Tongqing Yang ◽  
Fangming Shu

Since the piezoelectric properties were used for energy harvesting, almost all forms of energy harvester needs to be bonded with a mass block to achieve pre-stress. In this article, disc type piezoelectric energy harvester is chosen as the research object and the relationship between mass bonding area and power output is studied. It is found that if the bonding area is changed as curved, which is usually complanate in previous studies, the deformation of the circular piezoelectric ceramic is more uniform and the power output is enhanced. In order to test the change of the deformation, we spray several homocentric annular electrodes on the surface of a piece of bare piezoelectric ceramic and the output of each electrode is tested. Through this optimization method, the power output is enhanced to more than 11[Formula: see text]mW for a matching load about 24[Formula: see text]k[Formula: see text] and a tip mass of 30[Formula: see text]g at its resonant frequency of 139[Formula: see text]Hz.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document