Analysis of Energy Harvesting Enhancement in Piezoelectric Unimorph Cantilevers.

Mohammad Rahimzadeh,Hamid Samadi,Nikta Shams Mohammadi

doi:10.3390/s21248463

Abstract

Environmental energy harvesting is a major operation in research and industries. Currently, researchers have started analyzing small-scale energy scavengers for the supply of energy in low-power electrical appliances. One area of interest is the use of piezoelectric materials, especially in the presence of mechanical vibrations. This study analyzed a unimorph cantilever beam in different modes by evaluating the effects of various parameters, such as geometry, piezoelectric material, lengths of layers, and the proof mass to the energy harvesting process. The finite element method was employed for analysis. The proposed model was designed and simulated in COMSOL Multiphysics, and the output parameters, i.e., natural frequencies and the output voltage, were then evaluated. The results suggested a considerable effect of geometrical and physical parameters on the energy harvesters and could lead to designing devices with a higher functional efficiency.

Highlights

Due to ever-increasing environmental concerns and the use of self-driven devices in pervasive wireless systems, harvesting energy from various environmental sources has received a great deal of attention [1]
There are different environmental energy sources such as solar energy [2], mechanical vibrations [3], heat [4], fluid flow [5], human body motions [6], and electromagnetic fields [7] that can be utilized for energy harvesting purposes
Energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations based on piezoelectric materials [8] is among the most convenient and attractive techniques for feeding small-scale devices

Summary

Introduction

Due to ever-increasing environmental concerns and the use of self-driven devices in pervasive wireless systems, harvesting energy from various environmental sources has received a great deal of attention [1]. Energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations based on piezoelectric materials [8] is among the most convenient and attractive techniques for feeding small-scale devices. Piezoelectrics are the materials on which electric charges appear during compression or tension [9]. Due to their ability to directly convert strain energy into useful electrical energy and their ease of use, these materials have been analyzed by many researchers [10]. When a poled piezoelectric material is strained, it becomes electrically polarized and produces an electric charge on its surface that can eventually be used in electronic devices [11]

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