A vibration energy harvester with multiple resonance peaks and one piezoelectric component

Abstract

In this paper, a strategy to utilize a branched beam system to harvest vibration energy is demonstrated. The energy harvester consists of several branch beams with proof mass at their ends and one main cantilever beam with a piezoelectric component at its root and proof mass at its end. The device can utilize the resonance of the branch beams and main beam to generate multiple output voltage peaks, providing a better frequency response characteristic than that of the conventional piezoelectric vibration energy harvester. Only one piezoelectric component is needed in the device, which makes it competitive in the management of harvested electric energy.