Bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester structurally integrated on a trapezoidal plate

摘要

A bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester is developed for harvesting energy under the vortex induced vibration and it is integrated to a host structure of a trapezoidal plate without changing its passive dynamic properties. It is aimed to select trapezoidal plate as similar to a vertical fin-like structure which could be a part of an air vehicle. The designed energy harvester consists of an aluminum beam and two identical multi fiber composite (MFC) piezoelectric patches. In order to understand the dynamic characteristic of the trapezoidal plate, finite element analysis is performed and it is validated through an experimental study. The bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester is then integrated to the trapezoidal plate at the most convenient location with minimal structural displacement. The finite element model is constructed for the new combined structure in ANSYS Workbench 14.0 and the analyses performed on this particular model are then validated via experimental techniques. Finally, the energy harvesting performance of the bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester attached to the trapezoidal plate is also investigated through wind tunnel tests under the air load and the obtained results indicate that the system is a viable one for harvesting reasonable amount of energy.