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Title: A nonlinear multi-mode wideband piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester using compliant orthoplanar spring

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4919000· OSTI ID:22398944
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S-3G8 (Canada)

In this paper, a nonlinear wideband multi-mode piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester (PVEH) is proposed based on a compliant orthoplanar spring (COPS), which has an advantage of providing multiple vibration modes at relatively low frequencies. The PVEH is made of a tri-leg COPS flexible structure, where three fixed-guided beams are capable of generating strong nonlinear oscillations under certain base excitation. A prototype harvester was fabricated and investigated through both finite-element analysis and experiments. The frequency response shows multiple resonance which corresponds to a hardening type of nonlinear resonance. By adding masses at different locations on the COPS structure, the first three vibration modes are brought close to each other, where the three hardening nonlinear resonances provide a wide bandwidth for the PVEH. The proposed PVEH has enhanced performance of the energy harvester in terms of a wide frequency bandwidth and a high-voltage output under base excitations.

OSTI ID:
22398944
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English