A piezoelectric device for impact energy harvesting

Jacquelin, E., Adhikari, S. and Friswell, M. I. (2011) A piezoelectric device for impact energy harvesting. Smart Materials and Structures, 20(10), 105008. (doi: 10.1088/0964-1726/20/10/105008)

Abstract

This paper studies a piezoelectric impact energy harvesting device consisting of two piezoelectric beams and a seismic mass. The aim of this work is to find the influence of several mechanical design parameters on the output power of such a harvester so as to optimize its performance; the electrical design parameters were not studied. To account for the dynamics of the beams, a model including the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of the system is proposed. The impacts involved in the energy harvesting process are described through a Hertzian contact law that requires a time domain simulation to solve the nonlinear equations. A transient regime and a steady-state regime have been identified and the performance of the device is characterized by the steady-state mean electrical power and the transient electrical power. The time simulations have been used to study the influence of various mechanical design parameters (seismic mass, beam length, gap, gliding length, impact location) on the performance of the system. It has been shown that the impact location is an important parameter and may be optimized only through simulation. The models and the simulation technique used in this work are general and may be used to assess any other impact energy harvesting device.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Adhikari, Professor Sondipon
• Authors: Jacquelin, E., Adhikari, S., and Friswell, M. I.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: Smart Materials and Structures
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• ISSN: 0964-1726
• ISSN (Online): 1361-665X