The Lead Zirconate-titane(PZT) ceramic is known by its piezoelectric characteristic, but also by its stiffness. The use of a composite based on a polyurethane (PU) matrix charged by a piezoelectric material, enable to generate a large deformation of the material, therefore harvesting more energy. This new material will provide a competitive alternative and low cost manufacturing technology of autonomous systems (smart clothes, car seat, boat sail, flag …). A thin film of the PZT/PU composite was prepared using up to 80 vol. % of ceramic. Due to the dielectric nature of the PZT,inclusions of this one in a PU matrix raise the permittivity of the composite. For the most of industrial applications, the composite will not be used at room temperature, and as the energy harvested from this new materials have a direct relation with their permittivity we have made a study about the variation of the permittivity at different temperature and frequencies.
With recent advancements in energy conversion mechanisms, piezoelectric ceramics (1–x)PbMg1/3 Nb2/3Ο3-xPbTiΟ3 (1–x)PMN-xPT have demonstrated their abilities for converting mechanical vibrations into electricity. Three (1–x)PMN-xPT compositions were used in the present work with (x = 0.25, 0.31 and 0.33). The purpose of this paper is to investigate their piezoelectric performance as generators for energy harvesting applications. The energy harvester is numerically analyzed in this work. It consists of a piezoelectric bimorph clamped at one end to vibrating machinery, and a proof mass mounted on its other end. The energy harvester is also analyzed and experimental measurements of the harvested power are compared to the simulation results. A good agreement was observed between the experimental and the simulations results. According the application to exploit the vibrations of a hot air extractor, the results show that the harvested energy density of solid ceramics (1–x)PMN-xPT is 0.043 W/m2.
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