Homotopy analysis approach for nonlinear piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting

Abstract

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from a vertical geometrically nonlinear cantilever beam with a tip mass subject to transverse harmonic base excitations is analyzed. One piezoelectric patch is placed on the slender beam to convert the tension and compression into electrical voltage. Applying the homotopy analysis method to the coupled electromechanical governing equations, we derive analytical solutions for the horizontal displacement of the tip mass and consequently the output voltage from the piezoelectric patch. Analytical approximation for the frequency response and phase of the geometrically forced nonlinear vibration system are also obtained. The research aims at a rigorous analytical perspective on a nonlinear problem which has previously been solely investigated by numerical and experimental methods.