Parametric Analysis of Tapered Laminated Composite Beam in Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesting

Abstract

AbstractThe demand for vibrational energy harvesting systems has increased over the past decade. The motivation for the researchers in this area is to decrease the requirement of the external power sources and reduce the maintenance cost. In the present analysis, the energy harvesting capability of a tapered laminated composite beam integrated with piezoelectric stacks is studied with respect to geometry and material properties. The substrate material is made up of laminated carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite with different fiber orientations, and piezoelectric patches are attached on top and bottom surfaces. In order to solve the dynamic analysis, three-dimensional finite element analysis is carried out. Here, the piezoelectric layers are modeled using PZT-5H material type. Initially, the model is validated with the available literature results and is found to be in good agreement. Furthermore, the laminated composite beam is base excited at the resonant frequency and the effect of different geometrical parameters, material parameters, and stacking sequences of the lamina on the voltage and power output is studied. Both series and parallel configurations are accounted in the present analysis.KeywordsBimorph cantilever beamDampingLaminated composite beamParallel configurationSeries configurationTapered cantilever beam