Design, Manufacture and Test of Piezoelectric Cantilever-Beam Energy Harvesters with Hollow Structures

Abstract

This article presents a single-crystal piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) with a trapezoidal hollow hole that can obtain high energy density at low frequency. Harvesters with a hollow structure were fabricated through a series of manufacturing processes such as thermocompression bonding, screen printing and laser cutting. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental results showed that using low modulus brass instead of stainless steel as the PEH substrate enhances the voltage output of the device, and the hollow design greatly increases the overall stress level and power density. In addition, the developed PEH with a trapezoidal hole obtained the best output performance; when the acceleration, resonance frequency and matched load resistance were 0.5 g, 56.3 Hz and 114 kΩ, respectively, the peak voltage was 17 V and the power density was 2.52 mW/cm3. Meanwhile, compared with the unhollowed device, the peak voltage and maximum power density of the proposed PEH were increased by 30.7% and 24.4%, respectively, and the resonance frequency was reduced by 7%. This study verified the feasibility of the optimized design through simulation and experimental comparison.

Design and Optimization of Piezoelectric Cantilever Beam Vibration Energy Harvester

“…According to Wang B’s research [ 36 ], the output voltage of PEH can be improved by adding a trapezoidal hollow structure. The peak output voltage of Sample B (Wang B’s method) is increased by 9.00% compared with the unhollowed PEH (Sample C).…”

“…The power output can be calculated by the equation presented as [ 36 ]. Matched loading resistance of Samples A, B, C, and D were measured to be 45.42 kΩ 46.13 kΩ, 27.1 kΩ, and 27.5 kΩ, respectively, and their corresponding maximum power densities were calculated to be 7.24 mW/cm 3 , 6.77 mW/cm 3 , 6.69 mW/cm 3 , and 4.72 mW/cm 3 , respectively.…”

“…Wang, L. et al [ 35 ] designed a hollow triangular piezoelectric cantilever beam suitable for the random low frequency vibration environment of transportation infrastructure. Wang, B. et al [ 36 ] designed a piezoelectric cantilever beam with a trapezoidal hole, and this piezoelectric cantilever beam obtained a power density of 8.932 mW/cm 3 at an acceleration of 1.5 g. The triangular hole, rectangular hole, and trapezoidal hole were compared in Wang B’s research, and the PEH with a trapezoidal hole was proved to have the best performance. However, for PEH with a trapezoidal hole, the influence of the direction and area of the trapezoid on the output have yet to be investigated in detail.…”

Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Technologies: Synthesis, Mechanisms, and Multifunctional Applications

“…One of the most common device configurations is a cantilever for film or sheet piezoelectric materials as show in Figure , which can be used to harvest energy from vibration . Generally, a cantilever configuration comprises a continuous substrate fixed at the left end to a vibration excitation platform, and the free right end is fixed with a tip mass . A piezoelectric layer is attached to the cantilever surface under alternating deformation .…”

Integration of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems in Building Envelope for Structural Health Monitoring with Fiber Optic Sensing Technology

“…Despite multiple projects have been investigated this goal using in particular Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV) products [28,29], the introduction of energy harvesting based on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System (PE-EHS) can represent a valuable option for building envelope integration. The scientific community has deeply investigated piezoelectric cantilever even for smart building application [30][31][32]. However, the adoption of PE-EHS cantilever in façade is a challenge to be furtherly addressed.…”