Modeling and fabrication of a piezoelectric vibration‐induced micro power generator

Abstract

In this paper, theoretical and experimental study on a piezoelectric vibration‐induced micro power generator that can convert mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy is presented. The mechanical‐electrical energy conversion mechanism is a voltage between two capacitors, which belong to the mechanical and the piezoelectric equivalent circuits, respectively. To verify the theoretical analysis, two clusters of transducer structures are fabricated. Piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) material is chosen to make the energy conversion transducer. The desired shape of the piezoelectric generator with its resonance frequency in accordance with the ambient vibration source is designed by finite element analysis (FEA).

Experimental results show that the maximum output voltages are generated at the first mode resonance frequencies of the structure. The overall conversion efficiency is measured to be 33%. The experimental results coincide with the theoretical analysis.     

Piezoelectric components wirelessly driven by dipole antenna-like electric field generator

A new technique of transmitting electric energy wirelessly to piezoelectric components by using a dipole antenna-like electric field generator is explored. Two square size brass plate-shaped live and ground electrodes are used to form a dipole antenna-like electric field generator. When the dipole antenna-like electric field generator in electric resonance with an inductor, a maximum output power of 2.72 mW and an energy conversion efficiency of 0.0174% have been achieved wirelessly by the piezoelectric plate area of 40 mm² operating in the thickness vibration mode, placed at the center 4 mm away from the antenna plane with an optimum electrical load of 1365 Ω, resonant frequency of 782 kHz, 1 cm electrodes separation, 2500 cm² electrode area of dipole antenna-like structure, and input ac source power of 15.58 W applied to the series of dipole antenna-like structure and inductor. The theoretically calculated results have been validated by the experimental studies. It is seen that at the resonance frequency and optimum electrical load, the output power of the wirelessly driven piezoelectric component decreases with the size of piezoelectric component, distance of piezoelectric component from the electrode of antenna plane, but increases with the antenna electrode area.     

p-Type polymer-hybridized high-performance piezoelectric nanogenerators

Enhancing the output power of a nanogenerator is essential in applications as a sustainable power source for wireless sensors and microelectronics. We report here a novel approach that greatly enhances piezoelectric power generation by introducing a p-type polymer layer on a piezoelectric semiconducting thin film. Holes at the film surface greatly reduce the piezoelectric potential screening effect caused by free electrons in a piezoelectric semiconducting material. Furthermore, additional carriers from a conducting polymer and a shift in the Fermi level help in increasing the power output. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was used as a p-type polymer on piezoelectric semiconducting zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film, and phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was added to P3HT to improve carrier transport. The ZnO/P3HT:PCBM-assembled piezoelectric power generator demonstrated 18-fold enhancement in the output voltage and tripled the current, relative to a power generator with ZnO only at a strain of 0.068%. The overall output power density exceeded 0.88 W/cm(3), and the average power conversion efficiency was up to 18%. This high power generation enabled red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes to turn on after only tens of times bending the generator. This approach offers a breakthrough in realizing a high-performance flexible piezoelectric energy harvester for self-powered electronics.     

碰撞式微型压电风能采集器实验研究(英文)

为提高基于风致振动机理的微型风能采集器在低风速下的输出功率,设计了一种新型的碰撞式微型压电风能采集器.采集器主要由圆柱形钝体、铰接分隔板、压电悬臂梁和支架组成.通过铰接分隔板和压电悬臂梁的碰撞有效降低了采集器的工作风速.加工制作了采集器的原理样机并在小型风洞内进行了实验测量.通过实验发现分隔板与压电片横向间距对采集器的工作风速和输出功率有很大的影响.压电悬臂梁自由端添加质量块可以提高输出功率.风速15 m/s、外接200 kΩ优化负载时,采集器最大输出功率为64μW.     

Effect of material constants on power output in piezoelectric vibration-based generators

A possible power output estimation based on material constants in piezoelectric vibration-based generators is proposed. A modified equivalent circuit model of the generator was built and was validated by the measurement results in the generator fabricated using potassium sodium niobate-based and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics. Subsequently, generators with the same structure using other PZT-based and bismuth-layered structure ferroelectrics ceramics were fabricated and tested. The power outputs of these generators were expressed as a linear functions of the term composed of electromechanical coupling coefficients k(sys)(2) and mechanical quality factors Q*(m) of the generator. The relationship between device constants (k(sys)(2) and Q*(m)) and material constants (k(31)(2) and Q(m)) was clarified. Estimation of the power output using material constants is demonstrated and the appropriate piezoelectric material for the generator is suggested.     

Transmitting electric energy through a metal wall by acoustic waves using piezoelectric transducers

The feasibility of transmitting electric energy through a metal wall by propagating acoustic waves using piezoelectric transducers is examined by studying the efficiency of power transmission and its dependence upon the relevant system parameters for a simplified system consisting of an elastic plate sandwiched by two piezoelectric layers. One of these layers models the driving transducer for generating acoustic wave, and the other layer models the receiving transducer for converting the acoustic energy into electric energy to power a load circuit. The output voltage, the output power, and the efficiency of this system are expressed as explicit functions of the system parameters. A numerical example is included to illustrate the dependence of the system performance upon the physical and geometrical parameters.     

High-power, multioutput piezoelectric transformers operating at the thickness-shear vibration mode

In this study, a piezoelectric transformer operating at the thickness shear vibration mode and with dual or triple outputs is proposed. It consists of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic plate with a high mechanical quality factor Qm and a size of 120 x 20 x 4 mm3. The PZT ceramic plate is poled along the width direction. The electrodes of input and output parts are on the top and bottom surfaces of the ceramic plate and separated by narrow gaps. A new construction of support and lead wire connection is used for the transformer. At a temperature rise less than 20 degrees C and efficiency of 90%, the piezoelectric transformer with dual outputs has a maximum total output power of 169.8 W, with a power of 129.5 W in one output and 40.3 W in another. The one with triple outputs has a maximum total output power of 163.1 W, with a power of 36.9 W in the first output, 13.0 W in the second output and 113.2 W in the third output. The maximum efficiency of the piezoelectric transformer with dual outputs and triple outputs is 98% and 95.7%, respectively. The voltage gains of the transformers are less than one, and different outputs have different gains. Also, there is a driving frequency range in which the load resistance of one output has little effect on the voltage gain of another output.     

A High Current Density Direct‐Current Generator Based on a Moving van der Waals Schottky Diode

Traditionally, Schottky diodes are used statically in the electronic information industry while dynamic or moving Schottky diode–based applications are rarely explored. Herein, a novel Schottky diode named “moving Schottky diode generator” is designed, which can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy by means of lateral movement between the graphene/metal film and semiconductor. The mechanism is based on the built‐in electric field separation of the diffusing carriers in moving Schottky diode. A current‐density output up of 40.0 A m^?2 is achieved through minimizing the contact distance between metal and semiconductor, which is 100–1000 times higher than former piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators. The power density and power conversion efficiency of the heterostructure‐based generator can reach 5.25 W m^?2 and 20.8%, which can be further enhanced by Schottky junction interface design. Moreover, the graphene film/semiconductor moving Schottky diode–based generator behaves better flexibility and stability, which does not show obvious degradation after 10 000 times of running, indicating its great potential in the usage of portable energy source. This moving Schottky diode direct‐current generator can light up a blue light‐emitting diode and a flexible graphene wristband is demonstrated for wearable energy source.     

Electrical power generation characteristics of piezoelectric generator under quasi-static and dynamic stress conditions

The electrical characteristics of a piezoelectric power generator are investigated under quasi-static (duration >100 ms) and dynamic (stress duration <10 ms) stress applications. The electromechanical model of piezoelectric generator is presented and used to explain the effects of the two stress conditions. A computer simulation of the piezoelectric generator is used to compare the theoretical and experimental results. The simulation predicts that a quasi-static stress will produce a bidirectional generator output voltage, and a dynamic stress will produce a unidirectional output voltage. The simulation also predicts that, when equal stresses are applied to the generator, the dynamic stress will generate a 10/spl times/ higher output voltage than the quasi-static stress, contradicting results reported by other investigators. The output voltage is different for the two cases because of the generator's resistive capacitive (RC) time constant. The dynamic stress is applied in a time that is less than the generator's RC time constant, and the quasi-static stress is applied in a time greater than the generator's RC time constant. The piezoelectric capacitance has enough time to charge in the quasi-static case, resulting in the lower output voltage. The simulation results are experimentally verified for leaded zirconia titanate PZT 5H and PZT 5A materials. Simulated and experimental results are shown to be in good agreement.     

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.     

Geometrically nonlinear static and free vibration analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric plates

In this paper, nonlinear static and free vibration analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric plates has been carried out using finite element method under different sets of mechanical and electrical loadings. The plate with functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is assumed to be graded through the thickness by a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. Only the geometrical nonlinearity has been taken into account and electric potential is assumed to be quadratic across the FGPM plate thickness. The governing equations are obtained using potential energy and Hamilton’s principle that includes elastic and piezoelectric effects. The finite element model is derived based on constitutive equation of piezoelectric material accounting for coupling between elasticity and electric effect using higher order plate elements. The present finite element is modeled with displacement components and electric potential as nodal degrees of freedom. Results are presented for two constituent FGPM plate under different mechanical boundary conditions. Numerical results for PZT-4/PZT-5H plate are given in dimensionless graphical forms. Effects of material composition and boundary conditions on nonlinear response are also studied. The numerical results obtained by the present model are in good agreement with the available solutions reported in the literature.     

收集环境振动能微压电悬臂梁的制作工艺与测试

研制长寿稳定电源已经成为微型无线传感网络中亟待解决的关键技术问题,现有的化学电池容量有限,需要不断地逐个更换耗尽的电池,难以满足无线传感网络的实际应用.提出了利用压电材料的机电耦合特性收集环境振动能,设计了一种用来收集环境振动能的压电微悬臂梁结构,介绍了用MEMS工艺制作带质量块的硅基压电悬臂梁微电源的工艺流程.质量块可以降低器件的谐振频率,并提高输出电功率.最后,对制作的微压电悬臂梁进行了固有频率测试以及静态和准静态标定实验.     

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.     

基于压电陶瓷的引信物理电源的建模与设计

压电陶瓷能将弹药发射环境中的机械能转换为电能,压电电源就是基于此特性为引信供电的环境能源。提出一种压电发电建模方法,利用其对引信压电电源的发电特性进行了理论研究。共包括两个步骤:利用总能量求偏导法推导出并联压电叠堆产生的电压、电荷及电能公式;将压电结构发电模型等效为电路形式,利用电路知识分析得到压电电源的电能输出表达式。然后利用MATLAB软件进行了数值仿真分析,最后以所得理论模型为指导、以最大化提高发电量为目的进行压电电源的设计。     

Simulation Guided Coaxial Electrospinning of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Hollow Fibers with Tailored Piezoelectric Performance

Electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric fibers have high potential applicability in mechanical energy harvesting and self-powered sensing owing to their high electromechanical coupling capabilities. Strategies for tailoring fiber morphology have been the primary focus for realizing enhanced piezoelectric output. However, the relationship between piezoelectric performance and fiber structure remains unclear. This study fabricates PVDF hollow fibers through coaxial electrospinning, whose wall thickness can be tuned by changing the internal solution concentration. Simulation analysis demonstrates an increased effective deformation of the hollow fiber as enlarging inner diameter, resulting in enhanced piezoelectric output, which is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. This study is the first to unravel the influence mechanism of morphology regulation of a PVDF hollow fiber on its piezoelectric performance from both simulation and experimental aspects. The optimal PVDF hollow fiber piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) delivers a piezoelectric output voltage of 32.6 V, ≈3 times that of the solid PVDF fiber PEH. Furthermore, the electrical output of hollow fiber PEH can be stably stored in secondary energy storage systems to power microelectronics. This study highlights an efficient approach for reconciling the simulation and tailoring the fiber PEH morphology for enhanced performances for future self-powered systems.     

Analysis of a piezoelectric bimorph plate with a central-attached mass as an energy harvester

This article analyzes the performance of a piezoelectric energy harvester in the flexural mode for scavenging ambient vibration energy. The energy harvester consists of a piezoelectric bimorph plate with a central-attached mass. The linear piezoelectricity theory is applied to evaluate the performance dependence upon the physical and geometrical parameters of the model bimorph plate. The analytical solution for the flexural motion of the piezoelectric bimorph plate energy harvester shows that the output power density increases initially, reaches a maximum, then decreases monotonically with the increasing load impedance, which is normalized by a parameter that is a simple combination of the physical and geometrical parameters of the scavenging structure, the bimorph plate, and the frequency of the ambient vibration, underscoring the importance for the load circuit to have the impedance desirable by the scavenging structure. The numerical results illustrate the considerably enhanced performances by adjusting the physical and geometrical parameters of the scavenging structure.     

A spiral-shaped harvester with an improved harvesting element and an adaptive storage circuit

A piezoelectric energy harvester consists of a spiral-shaped piezoelectric bimorph to transfer mechanical energy into electric energy, an electrochemical battery to store the scavenged electric energy, and a rectifier together with a step-down dc-dc converter to connect the two components as an integrated system. A spiral-shaped harvesting structure is studied in this paper because it is very useful in the microminiaturization of advanced sensing technology. The aim of employing a step-down dc-dc converter in the storage circuit is to match the optimal output voltage of the piezoelectric bimorph with the battery voltage for efficient charging. In order to raise the output power density of a harvesting element, moreover, we apply a synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) in parallel with the piezoelectric bimorph to artificially extend the closed-circuit interval of the rectifier. Numerical results show that the introduction of a dc-dc converter in the storage circuit or a SSHI in the harvesting structure can raise the charging efficiency several times higher than a harvester without a dc-dc converter or an SSHI.     

The peculiarities of energy characteristics of acoustic waves in piezoelectric materials and structures

This paper is devoted to detailed theoretical investigation of energy density and power flow of homogeneous (bulk) and inhomogeneous (surface and plate) plane acoustic waves in piezoelectric materials and structures. The analysis of these waves in different materials of various crystallographic orientations allowed us to establish some energy regularities. These regularities are the same for instantaneous energy characteristics of homogeneous waves and for time-average energy characteristics on unit of aperture of inhomogeneous waves if the electrical energy and power flow in vacuum are taken into account. It has been shown that, for strong piezoactive waves, the electric energy density may exceed the mechanical energy density more than three times.     

Lead‐Free Perovskite Nanowire‐Employed Piezopolymer for Highly Efficient Flexible Nanocomposite Energy Harvester

In the past two decades, mechanical energy harvesting technologies have been developed in various ways to support or power small‐scale electronics. Nevertheless, the strategy for enhancing current and charge performance of flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters using a simple and cost‐effective process is still a challenging issue. Herein, a 1D–3D (1‐3) fully piezoelectric nanocomposite is developed using perovskite BaTiO₃ (BT) nanowire (NW)‐employed poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) for a high‐performance hybrid nanocomposite generator (hNCG) device. The harvested output of the flexible hNCG reaches up to ≈14 V and ≈4 µA, which is higher than the current levels of even previous piezoceramic film‐based flexible energy harvesters. Finite element analysis method simulations study that the outstanding performance of hNCG devices attributes to not only the piezoelectric synergy of well‐controlled BT NWs and within P(VDF‐TrFE) matrix, but also the effective stress transferability of piezopolymer. As a proof of concept, the flexible hNCG is directly attached to a hand to scavenge energy using a human motion in various biomechanical frequencies for self‐powered wearable patch device applications. This research can pave the way for a new approach to high‐performance wearable and biocompatible self‐sufficient electronics.     

Nano piezoelectric/piezomagnetic energy harvester with surface effect based on thickness shear mode

BackgroundEnergy harvesters with piezoelectric materials are widely discussed for the new kinds of smart structures. However, reports on the energy harvesters at the nano scale which have large potential applications in the future are rather limited.MethodsIt’s well known that the surface or interface stress can affect the mechanical properties of nanostructures. This work proposes the nano energy harvester with piezoelectric/piezomagnetic structure, in which the thickness-shear mode is considered by the surface stress model.ResultsThe vibration motion and output power density are derived and calculated. The peak value of the power density can be enlarged by increasing the residual surface stress and the surface effect on the nano-plate energy harvester can be influenced by both the surface piezoelectric and piezomagnetic elastic constants. Moreover, the harvesting ability can be improved by increasing the thickness of the piezoelectric layer.ConclusionThe capability of the energy harvester depends on the residual surface stress and the surface material constants. The proposed model provides the possibility of applying nano composite structures to the energy harvester.