A piezoelectric energy harvester with parallel connection using beams of different lengths to improve output performance

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to design an energy harvester to improve output performance. The theoretical analysis of the piezoelectric energy harvester has been performed. Reducing the length of one cantilever beam, thereby changing the relative impact position, causing the amplitude of the two cantilever beams to be different, and making the waveform of two beams different. Some experiments have been tested to verify the feasibility of the device and compare the differences with Plan A. Based on the experiment, it can be concluded that the output voltage is higher at both high and low speeds. When the rotation speed is 255 r min−1, Plan B arrives at the optimum speed, and the maximum output voltage is 166.2 V, which significantly increases from 97.2 V of Plan A. The maximum output power is 0.966 W under the load resistance of 10 kΩ. The maximum voltage is 157.7 V under the load resistance of 120 kΩ. Nevertheless, the maximum voltage and maximum power of Plan A are 92.62 V and 0.52 W. Besides, the prototype has fewer materials and nearly 1.5 times the energy conversion rate compares to Plan A. It can light up 42 LEDs easily and can adapt to environmental vibration frequency changes, so it has an intensely adaptable and outstanding performance in practical applications.