Patch-based piezoelectric energy harvesting on a marine boat exposed to wave-induced loads

Abstract

According to recent research studies, global fuel energy consumption will keep on increasing and will result in increase in carbon emission and significant decrease of fuel reserve at a higher rate. Therefore, carbon-neutral energy sources and energy harvesting technologies have been attracted more attention of researchers. One of the promising energy harvesting technologies is vibration-based energy harvesting from wave energy with the use of piezoelectric materials. Piezoelectric transducers are used extensively to obtain energy from vibration sources with their inherent capability of electromechanical coupling and high power density. Cantilever piezoelectric beams are commonly used in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting. However, cantilever harvesters require clamping as well as proof mass and are not practical to be implemented in complex structures such as marine platforms. In this study, an embedded patch-based energy harvesting on a marine composite boat was proposed and the performance of the harvester exposed to wave-induced loads was investigated. Piezoceramics (PZT) and ZnO were regarded for the patch material. An electromechanical model of the Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) boat integrated with the piezoelectric patches was developed, the patches were placed on the port bow side of the boat, below and above the waterline, hence, the efficiency of the patches according to their location was investigated and electrical power was obtained by optimizing the load resistances from a variety of load resistance values. Thus, a comparative study of the effectiveness of both piezoelectric materials was carried out.