Theoretical modeling and experimental verification of a broadband microvibrational energy harvesting system

Abstract

To scavenge energy from imperceptible vibrations, this paper investigates the broadband response and output performance of a microvibrational piezoelectric energy harvesting system with mechanical stopper. The energy harvesting system comprises a cantilever beam made of piezoelectric material, which is affixed with a coil at its unbound end and a mechanical stopper. The coil is placed in a magnetic field to provide an ultra‐low level excitation. The electromechanical model is derived according to force integration method (FIM) and Hertz's contact theory, and numerical simulations are undertaken to evaluate the influence of the excitation level, and the gap on the performance. For the linear counterpart without stopper, experimental results indicate the system generates a peak power of 24.12 μW with matched resistance under excitation with a level of 0.003 N and a frequency of 200.3 Hz. When a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stopper is introduced, the vibration of the piezoelectric beam exhibits an obvious nonlinearity with an amplitude of micron scale. Increasing the excitation level and decreasing the gap could efficiently broaden the response bandwidth. Experimental results demonstrate that a copper stopper with larger elastic modulus results in a wider response frequency range, and the half‐power bandwidth could reach 37.1 Hz under excitation with a level of 0.003 N.