Abstract
Piezoelectric cantilever beams are among the most popular vibration energy harvesting devices. Homogenization of the spatial distribution of axial strain along those beams increases harvesting efficiency. The general approach to minimize axial strain variation is to use triangular or trapezoidal width profiles. In this study, a width profile function that includes curved shapes is proposed and a finite element–based optimization scheme is constructed to maximize harvesting efficiency. A distribution parameter is defined for quantifying the strain uniformity. Optimization is performed for various tip mass values, using this parameter as the objective function. It is shown that curved beam profiles exhibit less variation in axial strain, compared to triangular and rectangular beams. Optimized shapes for minimal strain variation at resonance are determined. Experimental results also validate the findings of the optimization. At least 22% increase in strain uniformity is obtained with the optimized-shaped beam, compared to a triangular beam when no tip mass is used. The increase in strain uniformity becomes 29% when the tip mass is increased to 5 g. The results indicate the potential of employing beam-type piezoelectric energy harvesters with optimized width profiles.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Mr. Mustafa Sonmez for his help in construction of the experimental setup.
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This research has been funded by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) under Grant No. 117M101.
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The source code to generate the dataset used in the current study are available in the ZENODO repository, https://zenodo.org/record/3736770.
This research has been funded by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) under Grant No. 117M101.
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Karadag, C.V., Ertarla, S., Topaloglu, N. et al. Optimization of beam profiles for improved piezoelectric energy harvesting efficiency. Struct Multidisc Optim 63, 631–643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-020-02714-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-020-02714-0