Energy harvesting and ANFIS modeling of a PVDF/GO-ZNO piezoelectric nanogenerator on a UAV

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study is to energy harvesting and modeling from a soft and flexible nanogenerator based on nanofibers (PVDF/ZnO-RGO) on the arm of a multi-rotor UAV. The nanogenerator modeling was done to improve the usability of piezoelectric nanogenerators to provide part of the electric energy required by drones. Tests were conducted on the experimental setup and practical flight conditions. In each test and a period of 30 s, the vibration signals of the UAV arm were stored, and the vibration data extracted in the time domain and the electrical voltage of the nanogenerator were obtained through the vibrations of the drone, and its values were recorded in each experiment. After signal processing, the best vibration features were used for modeling. In the modeling process, some data were considered for training and testing in ANFIS network. The ANFIS inputs included the selected vibration features and the outputs included the stored voltage. The modeling results were analyzed based on increasing the amplitude of vibrations and the duration of exposure of the nanogenerator to vibration led to higher voltage generation. The maximum voltage recorded during the 30-s flight time of the tested UAV was 64 mV at 3.54, 49.8, and 0.48 Hz along the x, y, and z axes, respectively. The results showed that the application of energy harvesting on different vibration systems could be improved through modeling. It can be used to predict the amount of electric energy produced according to the vibrations of the drone in the future.