Dumbbell-shaped piezoelectric energy harvesting from coupled vibrations

Abstract

This paper presents a novel dumbbell-shaped piezoelectric energy harvesting from vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and galloping. The designed harvester system leverages the coupled vibrations to improve the output performance. The conceptual design of the dumbbell-shaped harvester system is first developed, the theoretical model of the harvester is then established, three-dimensional simulation analyses are conducted, and the prototypes of the harvester that combines a cylinder and a cuboid are finally manufactured. The effect of the cylinder lengths and airflow velocity on the harvesting characteristics is explored. The results demonstrate the derived mathematical model is fully verified through experimental method. VIV occurs in the 0.5D and 1D dumbbell-shaped harvester systems at lower airflow velocities, while galloping takes place at higher velocities, both of which contribute to increase the output performance. In contrast, the 1D - 3D dumbbell-shaped harvesters demonstrate a VIV behavior only and suppress vibration. The maximum voltage generated by the 0.5D harvester is 12.03 V at 4.29 m s-1, which is 11.18 % higher than that of a single cuboid harvester. The vorticity fields illustrate the vortex shedding mode and intensity, as well as reveal the underlying influence mechanism.