Abstract
The constant advance in the development of piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting has demanded new implementations in the electronics field. The piezoelectric property of these materials has been considered an energy source for low-power devices; nevertheless, the units that provide energy are usually adapted to just one piezoelectric device. This aspect complicates the process, taking into account the amount of time needed for an energy harvest; therefore, this research inquired at first into the adequate piezoelectric materials for carrying out the current study. Afterwards, an energy management unit was designed, considering the connection between some modules and allowing the sourcing of an electrolytic cell for producing hydrogen and, in turn, energy. The results evidence a decrease in time charging of the energy storage unit, which allows a cell’s supply of energy in shorter time intervals, its design efficiency being about 90%, in such a way that the energy harvested through the piezoelectric devices can be used in a better manner.
Highlights
The piezoelectric devices as energy harvesters are founded on the physical principle of one-way functions; this parameter assumes the voltage polarity when it is subjected to a mechanical pressure as material compression or bending [1]
The advances in the field of harvester materials have been focused on kinetic energy harvest, produced through applications as bicycles vibrations [2], the energy produced by the air currents [3,4,5], or the energy applied with the compression of a piezoelectric device [6]
It is possible to affirm that it is viable to source a lowpower electronic device provided that there are more than 10 energy harvesting modules and considering that the capacitors’ charging time is very long when there are less than 10 piezoelectric devices, which would not justify the time spent on the harvest
Summary
The piezoelectric devices as energy harvesters are founded on the physical principle of one-way functions; this parameter assumes the voltage polarity when it is subjected to a mechanical pressure as material compression or bending [1]. Even though there are diverse applications of piezoelectric elements in the renewable energy domain, there is still a difference between the power provided by the material and the necessary power to the functioning of an electrical device [7]. On one hand, this problem consists in the time needed by the piezoelectric device for harvest the necessary energy to energize the device; on the other hand, it consists in the energy storage unit, as it is commonly adapted to only one piezoelectric module. These situations complicate the transition between the energy harvester materials and the alternative energy sources
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