Abstract
Vibration energy harvesters (VEHs) can transform ambient vibration energy to electricity and have been widely investigated as promising self-powered devices for wireless sensor networks, wearable sensors, and applications of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS). However, the ambient vibration is always too weak to hinder the high energy conversion efficiency. In this paper, the integrated frame composed of piezoelectric beams and mechanical amplifiers is proposed to improve the energy conversion efficiency of a VEH. First, the initial structures of a piezoelectric frame (PF) and an amplification frame (AF) are designed. The dynamic model is then established to analyze the influence of key structural parameters on the mechanical amplification factor. Finite element simulation is conducted to study the energy harvesting performance, where the stiffness characteristics and power output in the cases of series and parallel load resistance are discussed in detail. Furthermore, piezoelectric beams with variable cross-sections are introduced to optimize and improve the energy harvesting efficiency. Advantages of the PF with the AF are illustrated by comparison with conventional piezoelectric cantilever beams. The results show that the proposed integrated VEH has a good mechanical amplification capability and is more suitable for low-frequency vibration conditions.
Highlights
Vibration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in daily life and industrial production
The frame composed of piezoelectric beams and a mechanical amplifier is proposed for vibration energy harvesting, where a piezoelectric frame (PF) composed of multiple piezoelectric beams and an amplification frame (AF) composed of a link mechanism are designed
It is concluded that the reasonable structural design of the AF can simultaneously increase the external force acting on the PF and prevent the piezoelectric layer from being damaged
Summary
Vibration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in daily life and industrial production. In recent years, many researchers have tried to scavenge vibration energy for micro-power generation, which can be applied to low-power electrical devices such as wireless sensors and detectors[1,2,3,4]. Li et al.[25] designed a flex-compressive-mode piezoelectric transducer with a cymbal for mechanical vibration energy harvesting. Wang et al.[28] designed a flex-compressive piezoelectric energy harvesting cell with a large load capacity, and the force transfer coefficient can be adjusted. [33]–[35] to achieve high power output for piezoelectric stack-based energy harvesters. Cao et al.[36] designed a piezoelectric stack energy harvester with a force amplifier to scavenge the vibration energy of pressure fluctuations in pipeline systems. The frame composed of piezoelectric beams and a mechanical amplifier is proposed for vibration energy harvesting, where a piezoelectric frame (PF) composed of multiple piezoelectric beams and an AF composed of a link mechanism are designed. Design and dynamic analysis of integrated architecture for vibration energy harvesting
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