Analysis and experimental verification of electroacoustic wave energy harvesting in a coupled piezoelectric plate-harvester system

摘要

This paper introduces an analytical framework for predicting wave energy harvested by a circular piezoelectric disk attached to a thin plate. An harmonic point source excitation generates waves that are then incident on a piezoelectric disk-summing responses due to all such excitation enables general forcing profiles to be considered. The analysis approach decomposes the coupled system into two subdomains, one being the piezoelectric disk, and the other an infinite plate for which a Green's function is readily available. Interaction forces between the two subdomains couple the problems and lead to a closed-form solution for the propagation, transmission, and reflection of waves over the entire domain. In addition, the voltage generated by the harvester is calculated using coupled electromechanical equations. The analysis approach is first validated by comparing predicted response quantities to those computed using numerical simulations, documenting good agreement. The system is then studied in the frequency domain and the optimum harvester resistance is found for generating the most electrical power. Representative experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity of the analytical approach and verify the harvested power versus resistance trend.