Development of a Novel Piezoelectric Harvester Excited by Raindrops.

Alberto Doria,Gino Filipi,Giulio Fanti,Federico Moro

doi:10.3390/s19173653

Abstract

The impact of raindrops on a dry surface leads to a splashing phenomenon that dissipates a lot of energy. To improve energy collection, a novel piezoelectric raindrop energy harvester equipped with a spoonful of water was developed. The advantages and the drawbacks of this solution were analyzed with the aid of numerical simulations. A series of experimental tests were carried out in a laboratory with simulated raindrops. Experimental results showed that the negative effect of the added water mass was exceeded by the positive effects related to the impact of the raindrop on a liquid surface. Tests carried out connecting the harvester to a resistive load showed that the prototype was able to collect more energy than a simple cantilever harvester.

Highlights

IntroductionRelevant amounts of energy can be harvested by means of solar panels
On sunny days, relevant amounts of energy can be harvested by means of solar panels
The analysis of the scientific literature dealing with drop impact dynamics has shown that, if a raindrop harvester is equipped with a liquid surface, the amount of energy that is collected from a raindrop impact can be increased

Summary

Introduction

Relevant amounts of energy can be harvested by means of solar panels. This technology is mature and nowadays it is widely used both for generating electric power, which can be injected into the grid, and for feeding small end users, which are not connected to the grid. These small users include buildings in remote areas, sensors, antennas, and monitoring equipment. Energy harvested from raindrops is enough to feed small equipment like sensors with RF transmitters, since the power consumption of modern electronic devices is constantly decreasing [4]. In tropical countries with large rain rates, the energy harvested from raindrops is larger and, in the future, it could be used for feeding small electric/electronic appliances in remote areas [5,6]

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