Title

A design and experimental verification methodology for an energy harvester skin structure

Authors

Soobum Lee and Byeng D Youn

Journal

Smart Materials and Structures

Keyword

Topology Optimization, Shape Optimization, Energy Harvesting, Piezoelectric Material

Abstract


This paper presents a design and experimental verification methodology for energy harvesting
(EH) skin, which opens up a practical and compact piezoelectric energy harvesting concept. In
the past, EH research has primarily focused on the design improvement of a cantilever-type EH
device. However, such EH devices require additional space for proof mass and fixture and
sometimes result in significant energy loss as the clamping condition becomes loose. Unlike the
cantilever-type device, the proposed design is simply implemented by laminating a thin
piezoelectric patch onto a vibrating structure. The design methodology proposed, which
determines a highly efficient piezoelectric material distribution, is composed of two tasks:
(i) topology optimization and (ii) shape optimization of the EH material. An outdoor
condensing unit is chosen as a case study among many engineered systems with harmonic
vibrating configuration. The proposed design methodology determined an optimal PZT material
configuration on the outdoor unit skin structure. The designed EH skin was carefully prototyped
to demonstrate that it can generate power up to 3.7 mW, which is sustainable for operating
wireless sensor units for structural health monitoring and/or building automation.

Link

http://iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/20/5/057001