A Non-Linear Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Setup for the Continuous Power Supply of a Wind Turbine Monitoring System

Abstract

Current work presents the findings of a research project, which objective is the design of an autonomous piezoelectric energy harvesting setup for the uninterrupted power supply of a data acquisition and transmission unit. This system is designed to operate in wind turbine blades providing critical structural condition data. Wind turbine blades are subjected to aerodynamic loads generating oscillations with frequency content below 15Hz. To succeed in such an operational environment, the design of a special nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) is required, based on the post-buckling response of a composite beam with piezoelectric patches connected to harvesting circuits. The components of the PEH system are described and their electromechanical performance is simulated using continuous solid FE. All the required components are manufactured and tested in laboratory conditions to validate simulations and quantify the proposed system energy production performance. Additionally, a laboratory scale demonstrator is built and tested in laboratory environment simulating realistic operational conditions aiming to quantify the overall performance and power autonomy.