Analytical solution and optimal design for galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvesters

The performance of the galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvester is usually investigated numerically. Instead of performing case studies by numerical simulations, analytical solutions of the nonlinear distributed parameter model are derived to capture the intrinsic effects of the physical param...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2016-12, Vol.109 (25)
Main Authors: Tan, T., Yan, Z.
Format: Article
Language:eng
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Summary:The performance of the galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvester is usually investigated numerically. Instead of performing case studies by numerical simulations, analytical solutions of the nonlinear distributed parameter model are derived to capture the intrinsic effects of the physical parameters on the performance of such energy harvesters. The analytical solutions are confirmed with the numerical solutions. Optimal performance of such energy harvesters is therefore revealed theoretically. The electric damping due to the electromechanical coupling is defined. The design at the optimal electrical damping with smaller onset speed to galloping, higher harvested power, and acceptable tip displacement is superior than the design at the maximal electrical damping, as long as the optimal electrical damping can be achieved. Otherwise, the design at the maximal electrical damping should be then adopted. As the wind speed and aerodynamic empirical coefficients increase, the tip displacement and harvested power increase. This study provides a theoretical design and optimization procedure for galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvesters.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118