Beams-driven structures for piezoelectric energy harvesting/sensor and piezoelectric actuator

Balija Upendra1, Brajesh Kumar Panigrahi1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science - Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Telangana, India-500078
Published in 2023

Beams-driven structures are structures that use beams to support their weight. The beams are typically arranged in a way that distributes the weight of the structure evenly. Beams-driven structures are often used in buildings, bridges, and other complicated structures. Beams-driven structures are robust, capable of supporting heavy loads, and popular due to their ease of construction. Their advantages include strength, versatility, and durability to withstand wear and tear. Piezoelectric materials are able to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. This is known as the direct and inverse piezoelectric effect. The direct piezoelectric effect is the mechanism through which piezoelectric energy harvesters operate. When a piezoelectric material is deformed, it generates an electric potential. The inverse piezoelectric effect is used in piezoelectric actuators, which convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Piezoelectric energy harvesters have shown great promise as a way of powering small-scale electronic devices, such as sensors and monitoring equipment, in situations where battery replacement is costly or difficult. They can also be used to collect and process energy from the environment. The unique properties of piezoelectric materials make them useful in various applications, such as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting. The current study presents different beams-driven structures for piezoelectric energy harvesting/sensor and piezoelectric actuator. The primary simulation studies consist of eigenfrequencies and frequency domain analysis of piezoelectric energy harvesters and actuators using COMSOL Multiphysics. The various cell shapes are considered triangular, hexagonal, square, and octagonal; reported the cell shape for optimum performance among mentioned cell shapes. Furthermore, the impact of various beam cross-sections (circular, square, and hexagonal) on the output of piezoelectric energy harvesters and actuators is studied. Finally, parametric studies are performed on the piezoelectric materials for better performance.

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