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Analytical and finite-element study of optimal strain distribution in various beam shapes for energy harvesting applications

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Abstract

Owing to the increasing demand for harvesting energy from environmental vibration for use in self-powered electronic applications, cantilever-based vibration energy harvesting has attracted considerable interest from various parties and has become one of the most common approaches to converting redundant mechanical energy into electrical energy. As the output voltage produced from a piezoelectric material depends largely on the geometric shape and the size of the beam, there is a need to model and compare the performance of cantilever beams of differing geometries. This paper presents the study of strain distribution in various shapes of cantilever beams, including a convex and concave edge profile elliptical beam that have not yet been discussed in any prior literature. Both analytical and finite-element models are derived and the resultant strain distributions in the beam are computed based on a MATLAB solver and ANSYS finite-element analysis tools. An optimum geometry for a vibration-based energy harvesting system is verified. Finally, experimental results comparing the power density for triangular and rectangular piezoelectric beams are also presented to validate the findings of the study, and the claim, as suggested in the literature, is verified.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the involved institutions of higher learning, including the University of Hull and Universiti Teknologi Petronas for their facilities and equipment support. This research was supported by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme FRGS/1/2014/TK03/QUEST/03/1 from the Ministry of Education (MoE) Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Integrative Sciences and Technology, Quest International University Perak (QIUP), 227 Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun, 30250, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

    B. L. Ooi

  2. Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    J. M. Gilbert

  3. Center for Automotive Research and Electric Mobility (CAREM), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia

    A. Rashid A. Aziz

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  1. B. L. Ooi
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  2. J. M. Gilbert
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  3. A. Rashid A. Aziz
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Correspondence to B. L. Ooi.

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Ooi, B.L., Gilbert, J.M. & Aziz, A.R.A. Analytical and finite-element study of optimal strain distribution in various beam shapes for energy harvesting applications. Acta Mech. Sin. 32, 670–683 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-016-0557-3

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