Parametric study of a thin piezoelectric cantilever for energy harvesting applications

Abstract

Nowadays, bimorph piezoelectric cantilevers are commonly used in ambient vibrational piezoelectric energy harvesting. They are constituted of two thin layers of piezoelectric material separated by an inner shim material. To help the design process of these energy harvesting devices, analytical and numerical models have been developed. This work presents a parametric study to determine the effective coefficients of a thinned piezoelectric layer. To this aim, a one-dimensional analytical model and a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model are investigated: a thinned layer of PZT material in free mechanical boundary conditions is considered. The one-dimensional analytical admittance model allows the determination of the elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients (s E 11 , 1 T 33 , d 31 ) of the piezoelectric layer. Then, in order to determine the influence of all coefficients of the compliance, dielectric and piezoelectric tensors, a FE model is investigated.

Synthesis of a Stable and High-Concentration BaHfxTi1−xO3 Sol–Gel for High Electromechanical Performance of Bulk Ceramics

“…In particular, so-called lead-free "vibrational energy harvesters" have gained interest, as they can convert any form of mechanical energy into electricity due to their piezoelectric properties. This technology requires the development of piezoelectric thick films (with thicknesses of a few tens of micrometers) with the original shape of a bimorph cantilever, allowing operation at low frequencies, which makes the expansion of this technology more difficult [10]. In this context, sodium niobate (NN) and barium titanate (BT) systems have been widely investigated [11].…”

Editorial: special issue on PIEZO2017: Electroceramics for End Users IX

“…After a peer-review process according to the rules of Advances in Applied Ceramics journal, 10 invited articles were accepted for publication in this Special Issue. These works give a wide coverage of the topics presented in the conference from materials preparation (‘Ba 0.9 Ca 0.1 TiO 3 : microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and piezoelectric properties’ [1]) to properties (‘Structural and functional characterisation of KNNS-BNKZ lead-free piezoceramics’ [2], ‘Elasto-optic behavior in epitaxial films of perovskite oxide ferroelectrics’ [3], ‘The representation of coupling interactions in the material properties open database (MPOD)’ [4] and ‘Methodology to evaluate variations in piezoelectric constants after aging process’ [5]) and device design and modelling (‘Design of piston-like piezoelectric transducers based on a phononic crystal’ [6], ‘Parametric study of a thin piezoelectric cantilever for energy harvesting applications’ [7], ‘Virtual instrument to obtain electrical models of piezoelectric elements used in energy harvesting’ [8], ‘Modelling of the mechanical response of piezoelectric structures from millimeter to micrometer’ [9] and ‘Effects of the LGT crystal quality on the resonance frequency stability of bulk acoustic waves resonators’ [10]) of piezoelectrics and related materials.…”