Enhancing the performance of piezoelectric energy harvester using corrugated beam design

Piezoelectric materials generate electric charges in response to applied mechanical stress, making them widely used in mechanical energy harvesters to convert mechanical vibration into electrical energy. Despite their promise, energy harvesters typically generate only a few milliwatts of power. This research improves the voltage output of a piezoelectric energy harvester by replacing a conventional flat cantilevered piezoelectric beam with a corrugated cantilevered beam. The relationship between the number of curves in the corrugated beam and the voltage generated was investigated. The system consists of a corrugated beam covered with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film with varying numbers of curves, while maintaining a constant total volume. Simulation results using COMSOL indicate that increasing the number of curves increases the Von Misses Stress generated and therefore enhances voltage generation. Experimental studies show an improved voltage generation of 20.2% for four-curve corrugated beam and 18.2% for two-curve corrugated beam relative tostraight piezoelectric beam, respectively. Compared to conventional designs, the corrugated beam’s higher stiffness and pre-stressed curves result in increased voltage output.