Circuit Optimization for Enhancing the Output Power of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

  • Anahita Zargarani The University of Alabama, USA
  • S. Nima Mahmoodi The University of Alabama, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30560/ijas.v1n2p6
Keywords: vibration, energy harvesting, piezoelectric, inductive power conditioning circuit

Abstract

In this paper, a new method is proposed for improving a piezoelectric energy harvester’s output power. A piezoelectric vibration energy harvester has an inherent internal capacitance. The new approach adopts inductance to reduce the reactance of the internal capacitance and enhance the output power. To show the practicality of this method, four electrical circuits are investigated numerically and experimentally for a piezoelectric beam energy harvester: Simple Resistive Load, Inductive Load, standard AC-DC, and Inductive AC-DC circuits. An Inductive Load circuit is built by adding an inductor to a Simple Resistive Load circuit, while an Inductive AC-DC circuit is built by adding an inductor to a standard AC-DC circuit. Experimental results indicate that the Inductive Load and the Inductive AC-DC circuits avail the Simple Resistive Load and standard AC-DC circuits respectively. The inductive AC-DC circuit shows a 6.7% increase in the output power compared to the standard AC-DC circuit.

Experimental setup for the piezoelectric harvester attached on the cantilever beam (Zargarani & Mahmoodi, 2017)
Published
2018-08-29
Issue
Vol 1 No 2 (2018)
Section
Articles
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