Design of Vibration-Sourced Piezoelectric Harvester for Battery-Powered Smart Road Sensor Systems

Energy harvesting is crucial for battery-powered smart sensing systems to remain functional for a longer period of time without any intervention. Utilizing road vibrations, as the source to harvest energy, for smart road sensing systems is of a significant interest. Many studies on implementing distinctive designs for vibration-sourced harvesters are currently in progress. In this paper, a vibration-sourced piezoelectric energy harvester, which has been validated by the simulation results from COMSOL Multiphysics, is proposed. The design comprises two Lead Zirconate Titanate (piezoelectric ceramic material) PZT-5J mass-spring oriented cantilever bimorphs to capture the vibrations and three silicone rubbers to increase the stress applied on the bimorphs. This productive piezoelectric energy harvester has been designed to be used in low- and high-vibration conditions. A maximum power output of 57 mW has been obtained by the designed energy harvester. The simulation results prove that the proposed piezoelectric energy harvester design is efficient to supply power to sensors and wireless systems used in smart road applications. Based on the obtained simulation results, a prototype has been developed. Considering the real environmental aspects, the prototype has been modified to accommodate the requirement of sustaining and long-lasting design.