Global Dynamic Analysis of a Typical Bistable Piezoelectric Cantilever Energy Harvesting System

Abstract

This paper focuses on global dynamic behaviors of a bistable piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester with a tip magnet and a single external permanent magnet at the near side. The initial distance between the magnetic tip mass and the external magnet is altered as a key parameter for the enhancement of the energy harvesting performance. To begin with, the dynamical model is established, and the equilibria as well as potential wells of its non-dimensional system are discussed. Three different values of the initial distance are selected to configure double potential wells. Next, the saddle-node bifurcation of periodic solutions in the neighborhood of the nontrivial equilibria is investigated via the method of multiple scales. To verify the validity of the prediction, coexisting attractors and their fractal basins of attraction are presented by employing the cell mapping approach. The best initial distance for vibration energy harvesting is determined. Then, the Melnikov method is utilized to discuss the threshold of the excitation amplitude for homoclinic bifurcation. And the triggered dynamic behaviors are depicted via numerical simulations. The results show that the increase of the excitation amplitude may lead to intra-well period-2 and period-3 attractors, inter-well periodic response, and chaos, which are advantageous for energy harvesting. This study possesses potential value in the optimization of the structural design of piezoelectric energy harvesters.