Abstract
In the last few decades, piezoelectric (PZT) materials have played a vital role in the aerospace industry because of their energy harvesting capability. PZT energy harvesters (PEH) absorb the energy from an operational environment and can transform it into useful energy to drive nano/micro-electronic components. In this research work, a PEH based on the flag-flutter mechanism is presented. This mechanism is based on fluid-structure interaction (FSI). The flag is subjected to the axial airflow in the subsonic wind tunnel. The performance evaluation of the harvester and aeroelastic analysis is investigated numerically and experimentally. A novel solution is presented to extract energy from Limit Cycle Oscillations (LCOs) phenomenon by means of PZT transduction. The PZT patch absorbs the flow-induced structural vibrations and transforms it into electrical energy. Furthermore, the optimal resistance and length of the flag is predicted to maximize the energy harvesting. Different configurations of flag i.e., with Aluminium (Al) patch and PZT patch for flutter mode vibration mode are studied numerically and experimentally. The bifurcation diagram is constructed for the experimental campaign for the flutter instability of a cantilevered flag in subsonic wind-tunnel. Moreover, the flutter boundary conditions are analysed for reduced critical velocity and frequency. The designed PZT energy harvester via flag-flutter mechanism is suitable for energy harvesting in aerospace engineering applications to drive wireless sensors. The maximum output power that can be generated from the designed harvester is 6.72 mW and the optimal resistance is predicted to be 0.33 M.
Highlights
The usage of self-powered electronics is increasing because of robustness in the design [1]
The designed PZT energy harvester via flag-flutter mechanism is suitable for energy harvesting in aerospace engineering applications to drive wireless sensors
The main contribution of the present paper is to present an analysis of a flag-flutter phenomenon both in terms of stability margin parameters and critical aeroelastic mode shapes; via numerical and experimental campaign
Summary
The usage of self-powered electronics is increasing because of robustness in the design [1]. The advancement in technology in Internet of Things (IoT) applications has resulted in a tremendous need for self-powered wireless sensors. As batteries are heavy and are expensive to maintain, and limited in capacity and life, there is a need for mechanisms that can power the nano or microelectronics by absorbing structural energy [2]. There are many mechanisms for energy transformation i.e., electromagnetic [4], electromechanical [5,6], and fluid-structure interaction systems [7]. Many researchers are working on such techniques to drive electronic circuits in electromechanical systems [11,12]. The piezoelectric material is mostly used to harvest electrical energy by absorbing mechanical energy (mechanical vibrations) from the surrounding [13,14]
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