Fabrication and evaluation of energy harvesting floor using piezoelectric frequency up-converting mechanism

Abstract

This paper reports on the fabrication and evaluation of an energy harvesting floor tile using unimorph PZT piezoelectric cantilevers to convert kinetic energy from human footsteps into usable electricity. The operation of the tile is based on frequency up-converting mechanism in which low frequency input vibrations are converted into high frequency vibrations of an electromechanical transduction. The operational frequency of the PZT unimorph cantilever was converted up by an interaction between a permanent magnet and an iron bar. Vertical displacement of the oscillating cantilever was localized with a stopper preventing damage to the piezoelectric layer from shock or over-displacement excitation. The magnetic field density between the magnet and the iron bar was investigated through finite element analysis simulation in order to define an optimal air gap. Experimentally, a unimorph PZT cantilever was initially prototyped to validate the design. The results showed a successful frequency up-conversion with a resonant frequency of 10.54 Hz. Then, it was scaled up by accommodating 24 unimorph PZT cantilevers followed by experimental validation to evaluate its energy harvesting performance. Each cantilever was connected to a full wave bridge rectifier then connected in parallel with the other cantilevers. The generated electrical power and energy were investigated through various resistive loads. The average power and total output energy produced by one foot step on the tile were found to be 1.24 mW and 3.49 mJ, respectively at an optimal load resistance of 74.44 kΩ. The energy conversion efficiency reached 17.12% demonstrating the potential of harvesting energy from human motion.