Techniques for Enhancing Piezoelectric Energy-Harvesting Efficiency

doi:10.1117/3.2268643.ch6

Book: Power Harvesting via Smart Materials

Author(s): Ashok K. Batra, Almuatasim Alomari

Published: 2017

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2268643.ch6

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

Most of the piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) discussed in Chapter 5 are based on mechanical vibrations. They generate maximum power when the resonant frequencies of the PEHs are matched with the frequency of the available vibrational sources. A slight deviation results in a significant decrease in power-generation efficiency. The resonant frequency of a PEH is fixed after its fabrication, whereas the energy sources could differ, depending on the availability. A mismatch between the resonant frequency of a harvester and the vibrational frequency of an energy source is generally encountered. Various strategies and techniques have been developed to address this problem, among which two have been widely adopted: frequency tuning and bandwidth widening.