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Power Extracted From Piezoelectric Harvesters Driven by Non-Sinusoidal Vibrations | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

Power Extracted From Piezoelectric Harvesters Driven by Non-Sinusoidal Vibrations


Abstract:

The performance of resonant piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (RPVEHs) is strongly affected by the characteristics (shape, amplitude, spectrum, and so on) of the ...Show More

Abstract:

The performance of resonant piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (RPVEHs) is strongly affected by the characteristics (shape, amplitude, spectrum, and so on) of the vibrations from which energy is harvested. In particular, the estimation of the power that can be harvested by a given RPVEH fed by a specific vibration source is of great importance for design purposes. A fast estimation of the extractable power allows an effective and proper sizing of the harvesting devices. This paper addresses this issue for non-sinusoidal vibration sources, filling the gap in the existing literature. To this end, an accurate and efficient analysis tool for RPVEH systems loaded by bridge rectifiers is provided. The estimation of the average extracted power as a function of the bridge rectifier dc output voltage is carried out for both weakly and non-weakly electromechanically coupled RPVEHs. A closed-form expression is provided for the case of amplitude-modulated vibrations, whereas an analytical-numerical expression is given in case of vibrations with a non-sinusoidal slowly varying envelope. Experimental tests, obtained by using a commercial RPVEH, validate the theoretical results.
Page(s): 1291 - 1303
Date of Publication: 25 November 2018

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I. Introduction

The last few years, with the fast increase of Internet of Things applications in the Industry 4.0 revolution, have seen an increasing focus on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) [1]. WSNs are usually fed by batteries that have a number of well-known drawbacks. Energy harvesting, that is the conversion of ambient energy into electrical energy, offers an interesting alternative to batteries or, at least, it allows the increase of their life-time, avoiding their frequent replacement. Among the different energy sources studied in the literature of the last years, vibration energy is one of the most attractive for powering WSNs [2]–[4] because it can be found almost anywhere. Although vibration energy harvesters are generally characterized by low power levels, they are able to make WSNs self-sufficient from the energy point of view thanks to the duty cycle based operation [2].

References

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