Effect of subgrade on piezoelectric energy harvesting under traffic loads

Piezoelectric energy harvesting in roads generated by traffic loads was theoretically and experimentally investigated, and an indoor model of a layered road for piezoelectric transformation was developed using the traffic load model groove. Elastic double-layer beams resting on the subgrade soil were used to consider piezoelectric energy harvesting under traffic loads. Based on the vibration differential equations of elastic double-layer beams, the electromechanical equation was obtained using the Fourier transform. The experimental results of the piezoelectric energy harvesting were close to the theoretical ones, which indicated that the proposed method was useful in predicting piezoelectric energy harvesting from roads under traffic loads. The results also show that the influence of the transducer position on the output voltage and power should be considered, and that the thickness of the concrete panel and the condition of the subgrade soil can affect the output voltage and output power of the piezoelectric transducer. Moreover, the electrical energy was proportional to the vibration frequency and the excitation load.     

Consideration of impedance matching techniques for efficient piezoelectric energy harvesting

This study investigates multiple levels of impedance-matching methods for piezoelectric energy harvesting in order to enhance the conversion of mechanical to electrical energy. First, the transduction rate was improved by using a high piezoelectric voltage constant (g) ceramic material having a magnitude of g33 = 40 x 10(-3) V m/N. Second, a transducer structure, cymbal, was optimized and fabricated to match the mechanical impedance of vibration source to that of the piezoelectric transducer. The cymbal transducer was found to exhibit approximately 40 times higher effective strain coefficient than the piezoelectric ceramics. Third, the electrical impedance matching for the energy harvesting circuit was considered to allow the transfer of generated power to a storage media. It was found that, by using the 10-layer ceramics instead of the single layer, the output current can be increased by 10 times, and the output load can be reduced by 40 times. Furthermore, by using the multilayer ceramics the output power was found to increase by 100%. A direct current (DC)-DC buck converter was fabricated to transfer the accumulated electrical energy in a capacitor to a lower output load. The converter was optimized such that it required less than 5 mW for operation.     

A new piezoelectric energy harvesting design concept: multimodal energy harvesting skin

This paper presents an advanced design concept for a piezoelectric energy harvesting (EH), referred to as multimodal EH skin. This EH design facilitates the use of multimodal vibration and enhances power harvesting efficiency. The multimodal EH skin is an extension of our previous work, EH skin, which was an innovative design paradigm for a piezoelectric energy harvester: a vibrating skin structure and an additional thin piezoelectric layer in one device. A computational (finite element) model of the multilayered assembly - the vibrating skin structure and piezoelectric layer - is constructed and the optimal topology and/or shape of the piezoelectric layer is found for maximum power generation from multiple vibration modes. A design rationale for the multimodal EH skin was proposed: designing a piezoelectric material distribution and external resistors. In the material design step, the piezoelectric material is segmented by inflection lines from multiple vibration modes of interests to minimize voltage cancellation. The inflection lines are detected using the voltage phase. In the external resistor design step, the resistor values are found for each segment to maximize power output. The presented design concept, which can be applied to any engineering system with multimodal harmonic-vibrating skins, was applied to two case studies: an aircraft skin and a power transformer panel. The excellent performance of multimodal EH skin was demonstrated, showing larger power generation than EH skin without segmentation or unimodal EH skin.     

Z型梁结构压电式能量采集性能分析

振动能量采集能够将外部环境中的振动能转化为电能,具有绿色可持续、节能环保、设计灵活等优势,在工业、生物、医学、军事等领域具有广阔的应用前景.为使振动型能量采集器适应更为复杂多变的工作环境,提高其采集功率和工作频带,提出一种多梁结构-Z型梁结构压电式能量采集器.理论分析了该采集器的固有振动特性,并通过有限元分析了结构尺寸...     

Polymer-based nanopiezoelectric generators for energy harvesting applications

Abstract

Energy harvesting from ambient vibrations originating from sources such as moving parts of machines, fluid flow and even body movement, has enormous potential for small power applications, such as wireless sensors, flexible, portable and wearable electronics, and bio-medical implants, to name a few. Nanoscale piezoelectric energy harvesters, also known as nanogenerators (NGs), can directly convert small scale ambient vibrations into electrical energy. Scavenging power from ubiquitous vibrations in this way offers an attractive route to provide power to small devices, which would otherwise require direct or indirect connection to electrical power infrastructure. Ceramics such as lead zirconium titanate and semiconductors such as zinc oxide are the most widely used piezoelectric energy harvesting materials. This review focuses on a different class of piezoelectric materials, namely, ferroelectric polymers, such as polyvinlyidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers. These are potentially superior energy harvesting materials as they are flexible, robust, lightweight, easy and cheap to fabricate, as well as being lead free and biocompatible. We review some of the theoretical and experimental aspects of piezoelectric energy recovery using Polymer-based NGs with a novel emphasis on coupling to mechanical resonance, which is relevant for efficient energy harvesting from typically low frequency (<1 kHz) ambient vibrations. The realisation of highly efficient and low cost piezoelectric polymer NGs with reliable energy harvesting performance could lead to wide ranging energy solutions for the next generation of autonomous electronic and wireless devices.     

基于同步电感及buck-boost转换器的能量回收接口技术

设计基于同步电感及buck-boost转换器的接口技术—SCEI(Synchronous Charge Extraction and Inversion),完成该接口技术在恒定激振位移、恒定激振力情况下回收功率的理论分析及计算。理论计算表明,在恒定激振位移下忽略buck-boost转换效率时SCEI的回收功率大于Parallel-SSHI技术最大回收功率,且该回收功率与负载无关;在恒定激振力下SCEI回收功率与SECE技术特性相似;通过实验比较设计的SCEI技术与4种经典技术在相同激振位移下的回收功率。实验结果表明,SCEI技术回收功率约为SECE的1.5倍,且与负载无关。     

Toward energy harvesting using active materials and conversion improvement by nonlinear processing

This paper presents a new technique of electrical energy generation using mechanically excited piezoelectric materials and a nonlinear process. This technique, called synchronized switch harvesting (SSH), is derived from the synchronized switch damping (SSD), which is a nonlinear technique previously developed to address the problem of vibration damping on mechanical structures. This technique results in a significant increase of the electromechanical conversion capability of piezoelectric materials. Comparatively with standard technique, the electrical harvested power may be increased above 900%. The performance of the nonlinear processing is demonstrated on structures excited at their resonance frequency as well as out of resonance.     

Vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric unimorph cantilevers with unequal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths

We have examined a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever (PUC) with unequal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths for vibration energy harvesting theoretically by extending the analysis of a PUC with equal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths. The theoretical approach was validated by experiments. A case study showed that for a fixed vibration frequency, the maximum open-circuit induced voltage which was important for charge storage for later use occurred with a PUC that had a nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio greater than unity, whereas the maximum power when the PUC was connected to a resistor for immediate power consumption occurred at a unity nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio.     

A flex-compressive-mode piezoelectric transducer for mechanical vibration/strain energy harvesting

A piezoelectric transducer for harvesting energy from ambient mechanical vibrations/strains under pressure condition was developed. The proposed transducer was made of two ring-type piezoelectric stacks, one pair of bow-shaped elastic plates, and one shaft that pre-compresses them. This transducer works in flex-compressive (F-C) mode, which is different from a conventional flex-tensional (F-T) one, to transfer a transversely applied force F into an amplified longitudinal force N pressing against the two piezo-stacks via the two bowshaped elastic plates, generating a large electric voltage output via piezoelectric effect. Our experimental results show that without an electric load, an F-C mode piezo-transducer could generate a maximum electric voltage output of up to 110 Vpp, and with an electric load of 40 κΩ, it a maximum power output of 14.6 mW under an acceleration excitation of 1 g peak-peak at the resonance frequency of 87 Hz.     

Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of CeO2-added nonstoichiometric (Na0.5K0.5)0.97(Nb0.96Sb0.04)O3 ceramics for piezoelectric energy harvesting device applications

In this study, nonstoichiometric (Na(0.5)K(0.5))(0.97)(Nb(0.96)Sb(0.04))O(3) ceramics were fabricated and their dielectric and piezoelectric properties were investigated according to the CeO(2) addition. In this ceramic composition, CeO(2) addition improved sinterability, electromechanical coupling factor k(p), mechanical quality factor Q(m), piezoelectric constant d(33), and g(33). At the sintering temperature of 1100°C, for the 0.2wt% CeO(2) added specimen, the optimum values of density = 4.359 g/cm(3), k(p) = 0.443, Q(m) = 588, ε(r) = 444, d(33) = 159 pC/N, and g(33) = 35 × 10(-3) V·m/N, were obtained. A piezoelectric energy harvesting device using 0.2 wt% CeO(2)- added lead-free (K(0.5)Na(0.5))(0.97)(Nb(0.96)Sb(0.04))O(3) ceramics and a rectifying circuit for energy harvesting were fabricated and their electrical characteristics were investigated. Under an external vibration acceleration of 0.7 g, when the mass, the frequency of vibration generator, and matching load resistance were 2.4 g, 70 Hz, and 721 Ω, respectively, output voltage and power of piezoelectric harvesting device indicated the optimum values of 24.6 mV(rms) and 0.839 μW, respectively-suitable for application as the electric power source of a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) sensor node.     

Cymbal压电发电换能器有限元分析

通过建立Cymbal压电发电换能器的机电耦合有限元分析模型,计算分析了换能器结构参数对输出电压和谐振频率的影响以及外接负载对Cymbal换能器输出电压和输出功率的影响。研究表明,为了降低换能器的工作频率和提高换能器的输出电压,应增大换能器的空腔底部直径和减小换能器的空腔高度;在选择金属端冒和压电陶瓷厚度等参数时,应综合考虑换能器系统的刚度和外界振动源的频率特性和加速度特性;在任意一个频率点上,Cymbal换能器均存在一个最佳的外接负载,使得换能器的输出功率最大,而这个最佳的负载阻抗就等于Cymbal换能器在这个工作频率点上的输出阻抗。文中还提出并分析了基于外加预应力的多振子级联方式Cymbal压电发电换能器系统的结构。     

Optimizing energy harvesting parameters using response surface methodology

Energy harvesting is a process in which energy that would otherwise be wasted is stored and then used to power a system. Due to their unique properties piezoelectric materials are ideal for energy harvesting applications. In this study a pre-stressed piezoelectric composite was pressure loaded dynamically to harvest energy. The objective of this study was to optimize, using piezoelectric diaphragms, relevant parameters that have an effect on the energy harvesting process. Parameters considered were temperature, pressure, resistance and frequency. Response surface methodology was used to develop models to identify optimal parameter ranges and also to predict power conversion capabilities for specific parameter levels. Power densities of approximately 24.27 muW/mm³ were measured at optimal conditions. The model identified an optimal temperature of 12degC and a pressure of 240 kPa, which are in agreement with experimental results.     

Optimal design of laminated piezocomposite energy harvesting devices considering stress constraints

Energy harvesting devices are smart structures capable of converting the mechanical energy (generally, in the form of vibrations) that would be wasted otherwise in the environment into usable electrical energy. Laminated piezoelectric plate and shell structures have been largely used in the design of these devices because of their large generation areas. The design of energy harvesting devices is complex, and they can be efficiently designed by using topology optimization methods (TOM). In this work, the design of laminated piezocomposite energy harvesting devices has been studied using TOM. The energy harvesting performance is improved by maximizing the effective electric power generated by the piezoelectric material, measured at a coupled electric resistor, when subjected to a harmonic excitation. However, harmonic vibrations generate mechanical stress distribution that, depending on the frequency and the amplitude of vibration, may lead to piezoceramic failure. This study advocates using a global stress constraint, which accounts for different failure criteria for different types of materials (isotropic, piezoelectric, and orthotropic). Thus, the electric power is maximized by optimally distributing piezoelectric material, by choosing its polarization sign, and by properly choosing the fiber angles of composite materials to satisfy the global stress constraint. In the TOM formulation, the Piezoelectric Material with Penalization and Polarization material model is applied to distribute piezoelectric material and to choose its polarization sign, and the Discrete Material Optimization method is applied to optimize the composite fiber orientation. The finite element method is adopted to model the structure with a piezoelectric multilayered shell element. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of ac-dc conversion for energy harvesting using an electrostrictive polymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)

Harvesting systems capable of transforming unused environmental energy into useful electrical energy have been extensively studied for the last two decades. The recent development of electrostrictive polymers has generated new opportunities for harvesting energy. The contribution of this study lies in the design and validation of electrostrictive polymer- based harvesters able to deliver dc output voltage to the load terminal, making the practical application of such material for self-powered devices much more realistic. Theoretical analysis supported by experimental investigations showed that an energy harvesting module with ac-to-dc conversion allows scavenging power up to 7 μW using a bias electric field of 10 V/μm and a transverse strain of 0.2%. This represents a power density of 280 μW/cm(3) at 100 Hz, which is much higher than the corresponding values of most piezo-based harvesters.     

基于并联电感同步开关控制的振动能量回收方法研究

针对振动能量回收使用的并联电感同步开关(SSHI)控制方法研究中未考虑的控制损耗、储能负载和激励环境等问题,设计了一种基于电流监控、比较器、单片机和双向电子开关的低功耗回收控制电路。单片机通过比较器产生的中断信号控制双向开关适时闭合,成功实现了并联SSHI回收控制电路的功能。以储能装置为负载时,分析了整流电压、振子电容、激励幅值和频率对并联SSHI回收电路控制效果的影响,结果表明该方法在整流电压值较高、振子电容较大、激励频率较高、激励力较小时能够更有效地提高回收效率,为并联SSHI控制方法的应用奠定了一定的理论基础。     

Nonlinear interface between the piezoelectric harvesting structure and the modulating circuit of an energy harvester with a real storage battery

This paper studies the performance of an energy harvester with a piezoelectric bimorph (PB) and a real electrochemical battery (ECB), both are connected as an integrated system through a rectified dc-dc converter (DDC). A vibrating PB can scavenge energy from the operating environment by the electromechanical coupling. A DDC can effectively match the optimal output voltage of the harvesting structure to the battery voltage. To raise the output power density of PB, a synchronized switch harvesting inductor (SSHI) is used in parallel with the harvesting structure to reverse the voltage through charge transfer between the output electrodes at the transition moments from closed-to open-circuit. Voltage reversal results in earlier arrival of rectifier conduction because the output voltage phases of any two adjacent closed-circuit states are just opposite each other. In principle, a PB is with a smaller, flexural stiffness under closed-circuit condition than under open-circuit condition. Thus, the PB subjected to longer closed-circuit condition will be easier to be accelerated. A larger flexural velocity makes the PB to deflect with larger amplitude, which implies that more mechanical energy will be converted into an electric one. Nonlinear interface between the vibrating PB and the modulating circuit is analyzed in detail, and the effects of SSHI and DDC on the charging efficiency of the storage battery are researched numerically. It was found that the introduction of a DDC in the modulating circuit and an SSHI in the harvesting structure can raise the charging efficiency by several times.     

Design and fabrication of bimorph transducer for optimal vibration energy harvesting

High energy density piezoelectric composition corresponding to 0.9Pb(Zr0.56Ti0.44)O3–0.1Pb[(Zn0.8/3Ni0.2/3) Nb2/3]O3 + 2 mol% MnO2 (PZTZNN) and 0.8[Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3]-0.2[Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3] (PZTPZN) were synthesized by conventional ceramic processing technique using three different sintering profiles. Plates of the sintered samples were used to fabricate the piezoelectric bimorphs with optimized dimensions to exhibit resonance in the loaded condition in the range of ~200 Hz. An analytical model for energy harvesting from bimorph transducer was developed which was confirmed by experimental measurements. The results of this study clearly show that power density of bimorph transducer can be enhanced by increasing the magnitude of product (d ? g), where d is the piezoelectric strain constant and g is the piezoelectric voltage constant.     

压电振动能量收集装置研究现状及发展趋势

摘要：随着无线技术及微机电技术的日益发展,以化学电池为主的供能方式的弊端日渐显露,压电振动能量收集装置以其结构简单、清洁环保及易于微型化等诸多优点而得到了极大重视。本文从振动能量收集常用的压电材料及其压电性入手,从压电振动能量收集装置的结构设计和能量收集电路设计两方面对其进行阐述。在结构设计方面,以压电振动能量收集结构的方向性和响应频带为主线,详细介绍了国内外研究者在压电振动能量收集装置结构设计上的变化与创新;在能量收集电路设计方面,以能量收集效率的提高为主线,介绍了电路结构的优化改进。最后,总结了压电振动能量收集装置未来的研究趋势和方向,为从事压电振动能量收集研究的人员提供参考。     

宽频压电振动能量采集器的力-电输出特性分析

压电振动能量采集器是一种新型的力(加速度)-电耦合转换输出器件,为了提高单自由度悬臂梁压电振动能量采集器的输出功率和工作频带,通过在单自由度悬臂梁压电振动能量采集器模型基础上增加一个弹性放大器的方法,构造形成了具有两自由度的宽频压电振动能量采集器。利用ANSYS有限元软件建立了宽频压电能量采集器的有限元力-电耦合模型,数值分析了模型中各参数(如质量比、阻尼比以及负载电阻等)对系统力特性(速度、加速度等)和电输出特性(电压、电流、输出功率等)的影响。研究结果表明：大的质量比和小的阻尼比能够提高压电悬臂梁能量采集器的输出功率并拓展其工作频带;短路谐振状态下的匹配电阻能够使能量采集器产生较大的输出电流,而开路谐振状态的匹配电阻能够使能量采集器产生较大的输出电压,优化后的短路谐振和开路谐振最大输出功率分别达到4386.5 mW/g2和4263.4 mW/g2。频带宽度达到10 Hz,且是SDOF系统的5倍。     

共振频率可调式非线性压电振动能量收集器

振动能量回收技术能够将环境中的机械振动能转换成电能,进而为微功耗装置供电,具有良好的应用前景。设计了一种利用压电材料的新型振动能量收集器,该机电耦合结构由一对非对称压电悬臂梁组成,悬臂梁末端固定有永磁体,利用永磁体产生的非线性力,实现了悬臂梁共振频率与外界激振频率的匹配调节。提出了该结构的理论模型,借助Matlab/Simulink数值分析软件对理论模型进行了仿真分析,并通过实验进行了验证。实验结果表明外界激励加速度幅值为3 m/s~2的时,结构即能实现较大频带范围内的频率匹配调节,频带范围不低于6.5Hz,最大回收功率不低于2 mW。