A design and experimental verification methodology for an energy harvester skinstructure

Abstract

This paper presents a design and experimental verification methodology for energyharvesting (EH) skin, which opens up a practical and compact piezoelectric energyharvesting concept. In the past, EH research has primarily focused on the designimprovement of a cantilever-type EH device. However, such EH devices require additionalspace for proof mass and fixture and sometimes result in significant energy loss as theclamping condition becomes loose. Unlike the cantilever-type device, the proposed design issimply implemented by laminating a thin piezoelectric patch onto a vibrating structure.The design methodology proposed, which determines a highly efficient piezoelectricmaterial distribution, is composed of two tasks: (i) topology optimization and (ii) shapeoptimization of the EH material. An outdoor condensing unit is chosen as a case studyamong many engineered systems with harmonic vibrating configuration. The proposeddesign methodology determined an optimal PZT material configuration on theoutdoor unit skin structure. The designed EH skin was carefully prototyped todemonstrate that it can generate power up to 3.7 mW, which is sustainable for operatingwireless sensor units for structural health monitoring and/or building automation.