Implementation of multiphase piezoelectric composites energy harvester on aircraft wingbox structure with fuel saving evaluation

Abstract

The multiphase composite with active structural fiber (ASF) has proven able to provide better optimization between actuating and load bearing capability compared to a pure piezoelectric material. In this paper, the multiphase composite application is further extended for energy harvesting purpose. The Double-Inclusion model combined with Mori-Tanaka method is implemented in a computational code to estimate the effective electro-elastic properties of the multiphase composite. The effective composite properties obtained via the present code are in good agreement with the analytical, experimental and finite element results. The multiphase composite with different composition is applied to a typical jet aircraft wingbox with 14.5 m halfspan. The energy harvesting evaluation by means of hybrid FEM/analytical piezoelectric energy harvester model is presented. A new procedure to investigate the trade-off between the aircraft weight, the fuel saving and the energy harvested is developed. The results pointed out that the equivalent fuel saved from the power generated by the wingbox is more than enough for 1 hour Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) operation.

An iterative finite element method for piezoelectric energy harvesting composite with implementation to lifting structures under Gust Load Conditions

“…The upper skin is modeled as unidirectional laminated via shell elements with piezoelectric 1-direction lies on the midchord span. The wingbox configuration with PZT-5A as the upper skin has been shown to have a maximum energy harvesting potential around 40 kW [39]. However, the investigation in [39] assumed a harmonic load constructed from the steady aerodynamic cruise lift and excitation frequency near the first bending frequency.…”

“…The wingbox configuration with PZT-5A as the upper skin has been shown to have a maximum energy harvesting potential around 40 kW [39]. However, the investigation in [39] assumed a harmonic load constructed from the steady aerodynamic cruise lift and excitation frequency near the first bending frequency. This loading scenario was very much simplified compared to a real flight scenario.…”

“…As reviewed in [31], Mainly the studies focused on resonance and instability phenomenon, i.e., Vortex-Induced Vibration, flutter. To the authors ′ knowledge, in addition to the works done by De marqui et al [13,14], only a few articles [34][35][36][37][38][39] presented the evaluation of the lifting structure under a more practical aerodynamic loading condition, i.e., cruise and gust loads.…”

“…Further discussed in [40], a faster computational time was benefitted from this hybrid scheme compared to the full electromechanically coupled FEM of [16]. The hybrid scheme was further elaborated in [39]. Multiphase piezoelectric composites were implemented to the aircraft wingbox to obtain better weight -energy optimisation.…”

“…The comparisons against the gust loading models of [14,34], as well as the classical benchmark of the base excitation model [41] are presented in this paper. The investigation to verify the energy harvesting potential of the aircraft wingbox of [39] is also shown in some details. The mathematical model and computational algorithm of the iterative FEM are explained in the following sections.…”