A mechatronic power boosting design for piezoelectric generators

Abstract

It was shown that the piezoelectric power generation can be boosted by using the synchronized switch power conditioning circuits. This letter reports a self-powered and self-sensing mechatronic design in substitute of the auxiliary electronics towards a compact and universal synchronized switch solution. The design criteria are derived based on the conceptual waveforms and a two-degree-of-freedom analytical model. Experimental result shows that, compared to the standard bridge rectifier interface, the mechatronic design leads to an extra 111% increase of generated power from the prototyped piezoelectric generator under the same deflection magnitude excitation. The proposed design has introduced a valuable physical insight of electromechanical synergy towards the improvement of piezoelectric power generation.

Boosting the efficiency of a footstep piezoelectric-stack energy harvester using the synchronized switch technology

“…Given these requirements, several self-powered SSHI circuits have been invented (Cheng et al, 2016;Lallart and Guyomar, 2008;Liang and Liao, 2012), which consist of the voltage peak detector, comparator, and electronic switch. Recently, some mechanical self-powered SSHI solutions (Hua et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2015) are proposed to eliminate some electronic components used in the electronic selfpowered SSHI as well as reduce the voltage drop, phase lag, and energy consumption caused by these electronic components. These mechanical switches were designed for base-excited cantilever beams or specific mechanisms and therefore cannot be applied directly since the footstep piezoelectric-stack harvester works in a different way.…”

Comparative Case Study on the Self-Powered Synchronous Switching Harvesting Circuits With BJT or MOSFET Switches

“…A variety of approaches have been studied, including mechanical switches [18][19][20][21], velocity control [22], integrated circuits [23][24][25] or electronic breakers [26][27][28]. Among them, the mechanical switch relies on the structure's dynamic motion to connect and disconnect, and it has the advantage of simplicity and fewer electronic components requirements.…”

A Comprehensive Analysis and Modeling of the Self-Powered Synchronous Switching Harvesting Circuit With Electronic Breakers

“…For these synchronous switching circuits, the self-powered realization remains a hot topic. A variety of approaches have been studied, including electronic breakers [16][17][18], mechanical switches [19][20][21], velocity control [22] or integrated circuits [23][24][25] etc. Among them, the electronic breaker composed of an envelope and a comparator receives great interests due to its simplicity and reliability.…”