Parabolic tapering piezoelectric rotational energy harvester: Numerical analysis with experimental validation

Abstract

Inadequate host beam design leads to the inefficiency of any piezoelectric vibration energy harvester. This article presents a parabolic tapering width piezoelectric energy harvester under rotational excitation. The Euler-Bernoulli theory, Hamilton's principle, and Galerkin's approach are used for mathematical modeling to investigate the frequency characteristics and open-circuit voltage response. Finally, experiments are conducted for validation. Compared to earlier reported designs, the proposed harvester produced high voltage-per-total mass (43.618 V/Kg) and performance amplification factor (4.18), besides the advantageous low natural frequency. This research’s findings can be used in real-time health monitoring of rotating machine components and fault detection mechanisms.