Piezoelectric energy harvesting from hybrid vibrations

Zhimiao Yan, Abdessattar Abdelkefi, Muhammad R. Hajj

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

72 Scopus citations

Abstract

The concept of harvesting energy from ambient and galloping vibrations of a bluff body with a triangular cross-section geometry is investigated. A piezoelectric transducer is attached to the transverse degree of freedom of the body in order to convert these vibrations to electrical energy. A coupled nonlinear distributed-parameter model is developed that takes into consideration the galloping force and moment nonlinearities and the base excitation effects. The aerodynamic loads are modeled using the quasi-steady approximation. Linear analysis is performed to determine the effects of the electrical load resistance and wind speed on the global damping and frequency of the harvester as well as on the onset of instability. Then, nonlinear analysis is performed to investigate the impact of the base acceleration, wind speed, and electrical load resistance on the performance of the harvester and the associated nonlinear phenomena that take place. The results show that, depending on the interaction between the base and galloping excitations, and the considered values of the wind speed, base acceleration, and electrical load resistance, different nonlinear phenomena arise while others disappear. Short- and open-circuit configurations for different wind speeds and base accelerations are assessed. The results show that the maximum levels of harvested power are accompanied by a minimum transverse displacement when varying the electrical load resistance.

Original languageEnglish
Article number025026
JournalSmart Materials and Structures
Volume23
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2014

Keywords

  • energy harvesting
  • galloping oscillations
  • harmonic excitations
  • nonlinear dynamics
  • piezoelectric material

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