High accuracy comsol simulation method of bimorph cantilever for piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting

Abstract

Piezoelectric bimorph cantilever is a typical structure for vibration energy harvesting. This paper studies the method to improve the accuracy of FEA (finite element analysis) simulation for piezoelectric bimorph cantilever. The COSMOL simulation methods based on 1 D (dimension) model of Euler Bernoulli beam, as well as 2 D and 3 D models of solid mechanics are proposed respectively. Compared with the theory and experiment results given by Erturk A, the influences of 1 D and 3 D piezoelectric material parameters on simulation accuracy in FEA modeling is discussed. The simulation error can be reduced to less than 1.2% by using 1D piezoelectric material parameters in COMSOL simulation, while the maximum simulation error can be up to 28% by using 3D piezoelectric material parameters. Comparing serial and parallel configurations of piezoelectric bimorph cantilever, the output electrical powers, varying with the excitation frequency and load resistance, are also discussed in COMSOL simulation. Performance comparation of three kinds of piezoelectric bimorph cantilevers with tip mass shows that the modelling and simulation in finite element methods by COMSOL are simple and convenient, and are suitable for the electromechanical coupling analysis and optimization of complex topological structures.

Low‐frequency nanocomposite piezoelectric energy harvester with embedded zinc oxide nanowires

“…The mesh conditions for the proposed nanocomposite piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) with (A) constant (B) tapered thickness T A B L E 2 Verification of first order eigenfrequency Experimental [45] FE modeling [45] Present 502.5 503.26 503.25…”

“…Wang et al [45] Present Wang et al [45] Present Wang et al [45] Present the values of shape functions and their derivations within an element. The total energy function Π for such energy harvesters under mechanical load f and electrical charge Q includes kinetic energy, stain energy, electrical energy, and work done by electromechanical inputs.…”

Mechanical Properties Analysis of Bilayer Euler-Bernoulli Beams Based on Elasticity Theory

“…where ( ) (10) As shown in Figure 2, the characterized of a cantilever beam is that one end is clamped, the other end is free. The boundary conditions are shown in Equation (11)…”

“…To predicate the beams mechanical properties accurately, some researchers use the business software [10][11]. For example, Al-Qasem et al [12] calculated the shear stress in a cantilever beam by ANSYS software.…”

Fundamental Definitions for Axially-Strained Piezo-Semiconductive Nanostructures

“…In particular, in comparison with traditional piezoelectric transducers, at nanoscale there are more degrees of freedom as there can be more options for the types of mechanical input [ 1 , 21 ], the positions of the contacts [ 1 , 21 ], the dimensionalities [ 1 , 21 ], and the shapes [ 1 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Despite these and other [ 1 ] opportunities, nanoscale dimensions typically result in complications associated to fabricating, characterizing and packaging that make simulations possibly even more important than for conventional devices [ 25 , 26 ]. After the first report on piezoelectric nanogenerators [ 27 ], the electric potential within a ZnO nanowire laterally bent by the tip of an atomic force microscope was computed [ 28 ].…”