Design, Simulation and Optimization of Bimorph Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

T. Desai [1], R. Dudhe [1], S. Ayyalusamy [1],
[1] Manipal University, Dubai, UAE

Published in 2016

Piezoelectric energy conversion has received great attention for vibration-to-electric energy conversion over the last five years. A typical piezoelectric energy harvester is a unimorph or a bimorph cantilever located on a vibrating host structure, to generate electrical energy from base excitations. In this paper we have optimized the dimensions of the proof mass and the bimorph piezoelectric layer to maximize the output voltage of the piezoelectric energy harvester. The results range from maximum to minimum using different combinations of the affecting parameters using Taguchi’s orthogonal array for optimization of the parameters. The designed bimorph piezo energy harvesting system was modeled using COMSOL Multiphysics® software and the observed parameters are compared to the analytical results.