Design and Optimization of a Multimode Low-Frequency Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

Abstract

In this paper, we present a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based multimode low-frequency piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), which can operate at low resonant frequencies (i.e., [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]Hz). The proposed harvester has a symmetric serpentine structure with a doubly clamped configuration comprising several proof masses at the junctions. The optimal parameters of the proposed energy harvester are determined by a computerized optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm (GA). Finite element simulations showed that the optimization results can generate high voltage with two usable low-frequency resonant frequencies. Furthermore, we discuss the array structure based on the proposed PEH. Finite element simulations demonstrate that our piezoelectric MEMS harvester array can generate voltage with a frequency ranging from 110.95 to 157.84[Formula: see text]Hz. Its normalized power density (NDP) when operating in the first four modes is 1284, 932, 1978, and 2592 [Formula: see text]Wcm[Formula: see text] m[Formula: see text]s4, respectively, and its performance outperforms those of previously reported MEMS-based energy harvesters.

Multimode auxetic piezoelectric energy harvester for low-frequency vibration

“…Figure 2(a) illustrates the proposed multimode PEH derived from our original serpentine design [35]. The fixation end was located at the end of the outermost cantilever.…”

“…The damping coefficient is influenced by the material, structure, bonding layer, and air resistance [36]. An isotropic loss factor, the widely used generic constant damping model [20,22,24,27,32,35], was used during the simulation to define the damping of the PEH. As real-world damping is designspecific, we will adapt its value later according to experimental results…”

“…Regarding the narrow working bandwidth, several solutions have been proposed, including nonlinearity [25,26], frequency tuning [5], and multimode systems [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Multimode systems can be classified into parallel and series modes based on the integration mode of the cantilever beam, as exemplary schematic representations demonstrate in figure 1.…”