This paper presents a theoretical model for simulating a piezoelectric beam bimorph
power harvester consisting of a laminated piezoelectric beam, a proof mass, and an
electrical load. The vertical offset of the proof mass center from the beam centroid
couples the bending and longitudinal motions, which makes it necessary to consider
both longitudinal and lateral vibrations simultaneously. Experiments were carried out
on a beam bimorph prototype mounted on a shaker to measure the electrical output.
Numerical results obtained using the proposed procedure for piezoelectric
bimorph power harvesters are in good agreement with the experimental
data.
Keywords
power harvesting, finite element modeling, piezoelectric
structures, bending, axial deformation, rotary inertia