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. 2023 Sep 17;14(9):1782.
doi: 10.3390/mi14091782.

Applications of a Novel Tunable Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

Sreekumari Raghavan  1 , Rishi Gupta  1 , Loveleen Sharma  1
Affiliations

Applications of a Novel Tunable Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

Sreekumari Raghavan et al. Micromachines (Basel). .

Abstract

Conversion of ambient energy to usable electrical energy is attracting attention from researchers since providing a maintenance-free power source for the sensors is critical in any IoT (Internet of Things)-based system and in SHM (structural health monitoring). Continuous health monitoring of structures is advantageous since the damage can be identified at inception and the necessary action taken. Sensor technology has advanced significantly, and MEMS (microelectromechanical systems)-based low-power sensors are available for incorporating into large structures. Relevant signal conditioning and transmission modules have also evolved, making them power-efficient and miniaturized. Various micro wireless sensor nodes (WSN) have also been developed in recent years that require very little power. This paper describes the applications of a novel tunable piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH) for providing autonomous power to low-power MEMS sensors for use in IoT and remote SHM. The novel device uses piezoelectric material and an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) and enables electrical tuning of the resonant frequency using a small portion of the power generated.

Keywords: applications of piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH); energy harvesting; ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC); piezoelectric material; vibrations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Rishi Gupta and Sreekumari Raghavan have a US Patent pending.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Schematics and (b) Photograph of Novel tunable PVEH.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Circuit for powering a strain gauge bridge using the PVEH output. (a) PVEH; (b) Rectifier circuit; (c) Strain gauge bridge interface circuit; (d) Structure on which strain gauge is fixed.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Steel beam with a strain gauge bonded to it.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Experimental setup of the strain-gauged beam.
Figure 5
Figure 5
ADX L335 MEMS accelerometer and circuit.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Circuit for powering the MEMS accelerometer and IPMC using PVEH output.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Setup of the PVEH powering the PASCO Bluetooth device.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Circuit of the setup for powering the PASCO accelerometer/transmitter unit. (a) PVEH; (b) Rectifier circuit; (c) Interface circuit and PASCO unit.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Response of the strain gauge bridge powered by the harvester.
Figure 10
Figure 10
MEMS scheme for the novel design of tunable PVEH based on the SOI process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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