Investigation of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting From Structural Vibration Induced by Rotating Machinery

Abstract

Increasing energy consumption has led recent efforts towards energy harvesting technologies. Among them, piezoelectric energy harvesting with piezo-based sensors and energy harvesters have gained significant attention due to their applicability and efficacy for microscale power generation systems. Present study aims to investigate energy harvesting with piezoelectric materials from structural vibration propagating throughout the structure from vibration sources. For this purpose, a use case of a mechanical pump mounted on a steel foundation is chosen. A Finite Element (FE) model of the foundation of the pump with piezoelectric energy harvesters is developed and validated in an experimental setup. Measured frequency response functions (FRFs) show particularly good match with simulation results. Afterwards, a real measured acceleration data from the mechanical pump is applied. Simulations are performed and effectiveness of the piezoelectric energy harvester for two different locations are demonstrated. In this study, piezoceramic (PZT), PVDF polymer, ZnO film and a PMN-PT single crystal composite is considered as harvester material and the effectiveness of each piezoelectric material are compared.