Active Interface for Piezoelectric Harvesters Based on Multi-Variable Maximum Power Point Tracking | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

Active Interface for Piezoelectric Harvesters Based on Multi-Variable Maximum Power Point Tracking


Abstract:

An active electronic interface for maximizing the power extracted from a resonant piezoelectric vibration harvester by means of a multi-variable Maximum Power Point Track...Show More

Abstract:

An active electronic interface for maximizing the power extracted from a resonant piezoelectric vibration harvester by means of a multi-variable Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is presented. The input voltage of the electronic interface is dynamically adapted in order to ensure that the maximum power is extracted even if the vibration characteristics change with time. The digital control unit updates the amplitude, the phase and the frequency of such an input voltage without requiring the high-frequency sampling and elaboration of the harvester current or voltage. The unit exploits only the information on the vibration frequency kept from a small piezo accelerometer and a low-frequency sampling of the DC current. The implemented algorithm is as simple as the widespread Perturb & Observe algorithm, but it allows the extraction of significantly more power from the harvester. The power increase for a piezoelectric harvester with the proposed electronic interface is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. By using a commercially available piezoelectric harvester, the maximum power tracking performance of the proposed active interface is experimentally compared with that of a usual AC/DC converter with Perturb & Observe MPPT control.
Page(s): 2503 - 2515
Date of Publication: 09 March 2020

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I. Introduction

The increasing diffusion of vibration energy harvesting systems in wireless sensor networks and IoT applications has recently steered many research efforts to improve the performance of these low-power supplies [1]–[3]. The power electronic interface between the energy harvester, which is an AC source, and the DC load plays a key role in the maximization of the delivered power. Indeed, the power extracted from the harvester depends not only on the mechanical characteristics of the vibration, but also on the electronic interface directly connected to the output terminals of the energy harvester [4].

References

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