Modeling and Analysis of a

Piezoelectric Energy Scavenger

F. Khameneifar
M. Moallem
S. Arzanpour2
e-mail: arzanpour@sfu.ca
Mechatronic Systems Engineering,
School of Engineering Science,
Simon Fraser University,
250-13450 102 Avenue,
Surrey, BC, V3T 0A3, Canada
for Rotary Motion Applications1
This paper presents modeling and analysis of a piezoelectric mounted rotary flexible
beam that can be used as an energy scavenger for rotary motion applications. The energy
harvester system consists of a piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam with a tip mass
mounted on a rotating hub. Assuming Euler–Bernoulli beam equations and considering
the effect of a piezoelectric transducer, equations of motion are derived using the La-
grangian approach followed by relationships describing the harvested power. The equa-
tions provide a quantitative description of how the hub acceleration and gravity due to
the tip mass contribute power to the energy harvester. In particular, expressions describ-
ing optimum load resistance and the maximum power that can be harvested using the
proposed system are derived. Numerical simulations are performed to show the perfor-
mance of the harvester by obtaining tip velocities and electrical output voltages for a
range of electrical load resistances and rotational speeds. It is shown that by proper
sizing and parameter selection, the proposed system can supply enough energy for oper-
ating wireless sensors in rotating mechanisms such as tires and turbines.
关DOI: 10.1115/1.4002789兴

Keywords: energy harvester, flexible cantilever dynamics, rotary motion instrumentation,

piezoelectric bimorph

1 Introduction methods. This study reveals that piezoelectric transducers 共PZTs兲

Rotation is one of the most commonly used forms of mechani-
cal motion and power transmission widely used in various plat-
forms in civil and industrial applications. Apart from the design
and manufacturing issues, maintenance and condition monitoring
of rotary systems are of great importance in different applications.
For instance, a gas turbine power generation unit cannot be shut
down instantly for checkups or inspection purposes. Instead, it is
desirable to continuously monitor the health and status of the sys-
tem while it is operating under regular conditions. Condition
monitoring of rotational systems is a fast growing area in engi-
neering, which focuses on obtaining the criteria for predicting the
life cycle, failure type, and fault location in mechanical systems
关1兴. Sensors and data transmission 共wired/wireless兲 are essential
elements in all condition monitoring systems. Wireless communi-
cation is a reliable technique for sensory data acquisition, which
does not have the drawbacks of wired systems such as the need
for slip-rings in applications involving rotary motion. In such ap-
plications, a main drawback of a wireless system is the need to
provide energy to independent power sources such as batteries.
Although new technologies have considerably improved the size
and power storage of batteries, they still need to be charged when
used continuously.
As a result, availability of an in situ miniaturized power scav-
enging unit will be a huge advantage in modern wireless condition
monitoring systems.
Various power harvesting techniques have been developed,
such as electrostatic, electromagnetic, and piezoelectric harvesters
关2兴. Roundy et al. 关3兴 compared these three energy harvesting
1
This research was supported in part by Discovery Grants from the Natural Sci-
ences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 共NSERC兲 and Simon Fraser
University Startup Grants.
2
Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound of ASME for
publication in the JOURNAL OF VIBRATION AND ACOUSTICS. Manuscript received
February 22, 2010; final manuscript received July 30, 2010; published online
December 8, 2010. Assoc. Editor: William W. Clark.
are the leading choice for converting vibration energy into elec-
trical energy. In particular, electrostatic generators require a sepa-
rate voltage source to operate, whereas electromagnetic generators
require no voltage to operate but have the drawback of relatively
low output voltages. Moreover, the energy density of PZTs is
three times higher when compared with electrostatic and electro-
magnetic transducers 关4兴. A piezoelectric energy harvester is usu-
ally comprised of a cantilever beam on which piezoceramic layers
and a tip mass are mounted, with the harvester device mounted on
a vibrating base. Piezoelectric energy harvesters have been devel-
oped for different applications. For example, Shenck and Paradiso
关5兴 developed a shoe-mounted piezoelectric energy harvester to
capture energy from the forces applied on a shoe during walking.
The average power delivered to a 250 k⍀ load at a 0.9 Hz walk-
ing pace was 1.3 mW. Platt et al. 关6兴 utilized piezoceramics in a
self-powered monitoring system for knee implants and reported
generation of about 225 ␮W of continuous power. It was shown
that the amount of power generated by the piezoceramics is
enough to be used in human body implants to create in vivo self-
powered sensors. Priya et al. 关7兴 developed a piezoelectric wind-
mill for generating electrical power from wind energy. For a wind-
induced excitation frequency of 6 Hz, a maximum power of 10.2
mW has been generated with a load resistance of 4.6 k⍀. Khame-
neifar and Arzanpour 关8兴 proposed a power harvesting technique
for recharging the battery in a tire pressure monitoring system.
Sodano et al. 关9兴 used the Rayleigh–Ritz solution for modeling a
piezoelectric energy harvester beam without a tip mass. Erturk
and Inman 关10兴 showed that the commonly used single degree-of-
freedom harmonic base excitation relation may yield inaccurate
results for predicting the motion of cantilever beams. They pro-
posed a coupled distributed solution for a piezoelectric energy
harvester under base excitation 关11,12兴. It was shown that the
analytical solution could accurately predict the voltage output and
the vibration behavior of the bimorph. Also, to avoid placing the
piezoelectric electrodes on the wrong spot, Erturk et al. 关13兴 pre-
dicted the locations of the strain nodes of a cantilever harvester.

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 ⳵4w共␰,t兲 ⳵4w共␰,t兲
EI + ␳AL4 =0 共1兲
⳵␰ 4
⳵ t2
where E is the Young’s modulus, I is the area moment of inertia,
␳ is the mass density, and A is the cross sectional area of the
beam. The piezoelectric layers cover the whole length of the
beam; hence, EI and ␳A are taken as constant values. It should be
noted that placing the piezo layers on a part of the beam would
not be appropriate if the device is to be used as an energy har-
vester as the goal is to extract maximum power by utilizing the
whole length of the beam.
Using the method of separation of variables, w共␰ , t兲 can be
decomposed as
w共␰,t兲 = ␸共␰兲 · ␦共t兲 共2兲
Fig. 1 System for harvesting energy from rotary motion where ␸共␰兲 and ␦共t兲 are the spatial and temporal coordinate sys-
application tems. Moreover,
␤4EI
␦i共t兲 = e j␻t, ␻2 = 共3兲
␳AL4
This paper discusses a rotary power scavenging unit comprised
␸i共␰兲 = c1 sin ␤␰ + c2 cos ␤␰ + c3 sinh ␤␰ + c4 cosh ␤␰ 共4兲
of a rotating flexible cantilever beam with a tip mass on which a
PZT is mounted for energy harvesting. The gravitational force on where Eq. 共4兲 describes the ith mode shape of the beam. The
the tip mass causes sustained oscillatory motion in the flexible boundary conditions of Eq. 共1兲 specify an infinite set of values for
beam as long as there is rotary motion. The organization of this ␤. Each ␤ determines an eigenfrequency ␻ of the beam. The terms
paper is as follows. In Sec. 2, a model of the piezoelectric energy in Eq. 共4兲 can be determined by incorporating the boundary con-
harvesting system is obtained using the Lagrangian formulation. ditions of the system. The following boundary conditions can be
To this end, the dynamic equations describing the interaction of considered for a clamped-free beam carrying a load tip mass:
the piezoelectric transducer and a flexible beam are obtained.
Hence, expressions describing the electrical output voltage and
the power of the combined piezoelectric energy harvesting system
冏 冏
␸i共␰兲兩␰=0 = 0,
d ␸ i共 ␰ 兲
d␰ ␰=0
=0 共5兲

冏 冏 冏 冏
are presented. An expression for the optimal value of load resis-
tance is obtained, which results in the maximum harvested power. d 2␸ i共 ␰ 兲 J L␤ 4 d ␸ i共 ␰ 兲
= 共6兲
Hence, an upper bound of the harvested power is obtained. In Sec. d␰ ␨=1 ␳AL3 d␰ ␰=1

冏 冏
3, numerical simulations are presented to illustrate analytical re-
sults and the performance of the energy harvester. It is shown that d 3␸ i共 ␰ 兲 M L␤ 4
by proper design, the proposed system can scavenge enough =− ␸i共␰兲兩␰=1 共7兲
d␰3 ␨=1 ␳AL
power required to charge batteries for wireless sensors in applica-
tions involving health monitoring of rotating mechanisms. where M L and JL are the load mass and inertia, respectively. Using
the above boundary conditions, we have
c 3 = − c 1, c4 = − c2 共8兲
2 Energy Harvester Mechanism and Its Dynamic It can be shown that the positive value of ␤ is given by the solu-
Modeling tions of the following equation:
The proposed energy harvester is a piezoelectric cantilever 共1 + cos ␤ cosh ␤兲 − M ␤共sin ␤ cos ␤ − cos ␤ sinh ␤兲
beam attached to an extension beam. The extension beam is in
− J␤3共sin ␤ cosh ␤ + cos ␤ sinh ␤兲 + MJ␤4共1
turn connected to a tip mass. This harvester is mounted rigidly on
a hub, as shown in Fig. 1. The hub rotates with its rotation axis in − cos ␤ cosh ␤兲 = 0 共9兲
the horizontal plane with a relatively constant speed during its
where M = M L / ␳AL and J = JL / ␳AL . By using the method of as-
3
operation. In this section, we derive a mathematical model of the
sumed modes 关14,15兴 and the Lagrangian formulation, the dy-
energy harvester that relates mechanical deflections, hub speed,
namic model for the beam is obtained by using

冉 冊
and other parameters with the generated electric charge. To this
end, the coupled dynamics of a rotating flexible beam are derived d ⳵T ⳵T ⳵U
and integrated with electrical circuit equations based on the effect − + = Fi 共10兲
dt ⳵ q̇i ⳵ qi ⳵ qi
of the piezoelectric transducer.
where T is the total kinetic energy, U includes strain and gravita-
2.1 Dynamic Modeling of the Rotating Beam. The pro- tion potential energy, Fi is the ith generalized force, and qi is the
posed energy harvester consists of a cantilever beam carrying a ith generalized coordinate. Assume that R is the position of an
tip-mass payload, which is mounted on a rotating hub, as shown infinitesimal segment on the beam in the rotating coordinate sys-
in Fig. 1. The cantilever beam contains two active layers of piezo- tem Xⴱ-Y ⴱ. Then, the following relationships can be written:
electrics, which cover the whole length of the beam.
In the system shown in Fig. 1, the acceleration of the hub and R = xiⴱ + wjⴱ 共11兲
the gravity force on the tip mass provide excitations to the system,
which cause the beam to vibrate. Deflection of the beam relative ⳵x ⴱ ⳵w ⴱ ˙ ⴱ
to its base is denoted by w共␰ , t兲, where ␰ = x / L is the normalized Ṙ = i + j + ␪k ⫻ 共xiⴱ + wjⴱ兲 = 共ẋ − ␪˙ w兲iⴱ + 共ẇ + x␪˙ 兲jⴱ
⳵t ⳵t
position x along the beam, with the length of the beam given by L.
共12兲
Assuming an Euler–Bernoulli beam with small deformations, the
partial differential equation describing vibrations of the cantilever The kinetic energy of different components of the beam-mass sys-
beam is given by 关8兴 tem can be expressed as follows. For the hub,

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 1
冋冕 1
册 mii = mb␸i−1,e
2
+ M L␸i−1,e
2
+ JL␸⬘2i−1,e, i = 2, . . . ,m + 1 共24兲

再 冎
Thub = 共x2 + y 2兲dm ␪˙ 2 = Jh␪˙ 2 共13兲
2 2
hub i = 1, . . . ,m + 1
mij = M LL␸ j−1,e + JL␸⬘ j−1,e + ␴ j−1 共25兲
where Jh is the hub inertia. j⫽i
For the beam 共ẋ = 0 , y = 0 , ẏ = 0兲, the kinetic energy is given
where ␸, ␸⬘, and ␴ are m ⫻ 1 vectors, with ␴i given by
by

冕 冕
1
1 1 ␴i = ␳AL2 ␸i共␨兲d␨ , i = 1, . . . ,m 共26兲
Tbeam = Jb␪˙ 2 + 共ẇ + 2ẇx␪˙ 兲dm
2
共14兲 0
2 2 beam

where Jb is the beam inertia. Matrix C共␦ , ␪ , ␦˙ , ␪˙ 兲 represents Coriolis and centrifugal terms and
can be expressed as

冋 册
For the tip mass, we have x = L , ẋ = 0 , ẏ = 0 , w共x , t兲
= w共L , t兲 , ẇ共x , t兲 = ẇ共L , t兲. Hence, the expressions for transla- M L共␸Te ␦兲共␸Te ␦˙ 兲 M L␪˙ 共␸Te ␦兲␸Te
tional and rotational kinetic energies are as follows: C共␦, ␪, ␦˙ , ␪˙ 兲 = 共27兲
− M L␪˙ 共␸e␸Te 兲␦ 0
1 ˙2
T L1 = 2 关␪ w共L,t兲
2
+ 共ẇ共L,t兲 + L␪˙ 兲 兴M L 2
共translational兲 共15兲 The elements of the gravitational force vector

1
TL1 = JL ␪˙ +
2
冋
⳵ ẇ共L,t兲
⳵x
册 2
共rotational兲 共16兲 G共␦, ␪兲 = 冋 册
G11
G21
are expressed as follows:

冋 册
The potential energy U can be expressed as

冕 冉 冊 冕冉 冊 冕
L
L L
EI ⳵2w 2
w G1 = G11 = g␳A共− sin ␪兲 ␸Tdx + M Lg共− sin ␪兲␸eT ␦
U= dx + g␳A + 共x − w tan ␪兲sin ␪ dx
0
2 ⳵ x2 0
cos ␪ 0

+ M Lgh兩␰=1 共17兲 L2
+ g␳A cos ␪ + M LgL cos ␪ 共28兲
2
where h 兩␨=1 is the deflection of the beam at its end point given by

冉 w兩␰=1
冊 G21 = G2 cos ␪

冋 册
h兩␨=1 = 共L − w兩␰=1 tan ␪兲sin ␪ 共18兲

冕
cos ␪ L

Let us consider the generalized coordinates G2 = g ␳A ␸dx + M L␸e 共29兲

0
q1 = ␪, q2 = ␦1, . . . ,qm+1 = ␦m 共19兲
Also, the equivalent-spring constant K is expressed as

冉冕 冊
Then, the generalized applied forces are given by F1 = T, which is L
the torque applied on the rotating shaft, and F P, which is the K= EI ␸⬙␸⬙⌻dx 共30兲
moment induced by the piezoceramic layer 关16兴, and are given as 0
follows:
Assuming H = M−1, multiplying Eq. 共22兲 by H, and rearranging

冤 冥
␸1⬘共a兲 − ␸1⬘共b兲 the terms, we have
F1 = T, F2 to Fm+1 = FP = ␬v共t兲 ]
␸m⬘ 共a兲 − ␸m⬘ 共b兲
In Eq. 共20兲, it is assumed that a pair of piezoceramics are
共20兲
冋册 冋
␪¨
␦¨
=H
T − f 11 − f 12 − G1
FP − K␦ − f 21 − f 22 − G2
册 共31兲

mounted, with their two ends located at xa and xb of the beam. In where
this paper, we have xa = 0 and xb = L. It should be noted that this
torque is a function of voltage v共t兲 applied to the piezoceramic
layer. The term ␬ is a backward coupling term given by 关16兴
H= 冋 H11 H12
H21 H22
册 共m+1兲⫻共m+1兲

h1tz共tz + 2h1兲Ez d31 in which H12 is an m-dimensional row vector, H21=H12T is an

␬=
h13 + 共tz3 + 3h1tz2 + 3h12tz兲Ez/E
where d31 is the charge constant, E and Ez are the moduli of
elasticity of the beam and PZT, respectively, 2h1 is the thickness
of the beam, b1 is the width of the beam, and tz is the thickness of
the piezoelectric layer. Applying the Lagrangian formulation for
all generalized coordinates would result in m + 1 equations, which
can be presented in matrix form as follows:
b 1h 12 共21兲 m-dimensional column vector, and H22 is an m ⫻ m matrix.
tz
Other elements of Eq. 共31兲 are given by f 11 = c11␪˙ , f 12 = c12␦˙ ,
f 21 = c21␪˙ , and f 22 = c22␦˙ = 0. Thus, the following equations are ob-
tained from Eq. 共31兲:
␪¨ = H11共T − f 11 − f 12 − G1兲 − H12共K␦ + f 21 + G2 − FP兲 共32兲

冋册 冋册
␦¨ = H21共T − f 11 − f 12 − G1兲 − H12共K␦ + f 21 + G2 − FP兲 共33兲

M共␦,t兲
␪¨
␦¨
+ C共␦, ␪, ␦˙ , ␪˙ ,t兲
␪˙
␦˙
+ G共␦, ␪,t兲 + 冋 册 0
K␦共t兲
From Eqs. 共32兲 and 共33兲 and assuming that the hub rotates with a
constant speed 共␪¨ = 0兲, the dynamic model of the rotating flexible

冋 册
beam is given by
T共t兲
= 共22兲 ␦¨ 共t兲+共H22 − H21H11−1H12兲 − 共K − M L␪˙ 2␸e␸Te 兲␦共t兲 = − 共H22
FP共t兲
where ␦ is 关␦1 , . . . , ␦m兴T. The elements of the mass matrix, mij, are − H21H11−1H12兲共G2 cos ␪˙ t − FP共t兲兲 共34兲
expressed as
2.2 Coupled Electrical Model. Next, we obtain the equations
m11 = Jh + Jb + JL + M LL2 + M L共␸Te ␦兲2 共23兲 describing the dynamics of the piezoelectric transducer. The pi-

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Fig. 2 Electrical circuit symbolizing the parallel connection of
piezoelectric layers
ezoceramic layers of a symmetric bimorph cantilever beam can be
connected in series or in parallel depending on the application
关10兴. Figure 2 shows that each piezoceramic layer in parallel con-
nection can be represented as a current source in parallel with its
internal capacitance. In a practical situation, the output voltage is
rectified and conditioned by the converter circuit for storing the
harvested power in a storage media such as a large capacitor.
However, the purely resistive electrical load gives a simple and
useful way of calculating the power generated from the scavenger,
which has already been used in different studies 关10–12,17兴.
The electrical circuit equation for the circuit shown in Fig. 2
can be derived based on the Kirchhoff laws as follows:
d␯共t兲 ␯共t兲
CP + = i p共t兲
dt 2Rl
The output current of the PZT sensor is a function of strain and is
given by 关16兴
enough such that K − M L␪˙ 2␸e␸Te ⬍ 0, the dynamic Eq. 共37兲 be-
comes unstable.
The parameters that affect the eigenfrequency of the beam-mass
system can be used to design an efficient energy harvester. Proof
mass M L and beam length L influence the eigenfrequency of the
system. For a constant angular speed, the resonant frequency of
the energy harvester is in the form of 共k̃1 + k̃2␪˙ 2兲1/2. As M L in-
creases, both k̃1 and k̃2 decrease monotonically. This fact can be
used as a design guideline. Hence, by increasing the mass of the
proof mass, the resonant frequency of the beam-mass system de-
creases. Coefficient k̃2 does not depend on the beam length; how-
ever, by increasing L, the term k̃1 decreases sharply, and as a
result, the resonant frequency is decreased as the beam length
increases.
Equation 共37兲 also shows the effect of gravity as the harmonic
driving force. The effect of the piezoelectric output 共harvested
voltage兲 on the coupled equation of motion can also be observed
from Eq. 共38兲. The electromechanical model that has been derived
so far is without considering the effect of damping in the system,
which is considered in the next section.
2.4 Dynamic Equations Including the Damping Term. The
effect of damping can be added to the Euler–Bernoulli equation
by incorporating internal strain-rate damping and viscous air
damping. Hence, let us introduce a damping term with a coeffi-
cient 2␨r␻r = Cs␻r2 / E + Ca / m, where the first term represents the
effect of the strain-rate damping component and the second part
共35兲 represents the air damping component with damping coefficients
Cs and Ca, respectively 关10兴. After substituting the forcing func-
tion from Eq. 共29兲 into Eq. 共37兲 and introducing the above damp-
ing term, we have

冕
L m X A
⳵3w共x,t兲 ␦¨ 共t兲 + 2␨r␻r␦˙ 共t兲 + ␻r2␦共t兲 + v共t兲 = − cos ␪˙ t
兺
d31Ezb1th d31Ezb1th 共39兲
i p共t兲 = − dx = − ␸⬘Tr,e␦˙ r共t兲 B B
2 0
⳵ x2 ⳵ t 2 r=1

共36兲 v共t兲
C pv̇共t兲 + = ␥␦˙ 共t兲 共40兲
where Rl is the load resistance; C p = ␧s33bL / h p
is the internal ca- 2R
pacitance of each layer; ␥ = −共d31Ezb1th / 2兲␸⬘1,e is the forward where ␻r = 冑C / B, ␥ = −共d31Ezbth / 2兲␸⬘1,e, A = 关␳A兰L0 ␸dx + M L␸e兴g,
coupling term; ␧s33 is the permittivity constant; p, L, and h p are the
B = 共M ␸2 + J ␸⬘2 + m ␸2 兲, C = 共K − M ␪˙ 2 + ␸2 兲, and X
L 1,e L 1,e b 1,e L 1,e
width, length, and thickness of the piezoceramic layer; and h p is
the thickness of the beam. = ␬␸⬘1,e.
Solving Eqs. 共39兲 and 共40兲 for ␦ and output voltage V in the
2.3 Undamped Coupled Electromechanical Model. The phasor domain, we have
model given by Eq. 共34兲 is reduced to a single-mode model to
simplify the analysis and to gain more insight about the dynamic 2j␪˙ R␥A
behavior of the system. Thus, the single-mode model is given by V共␪˙ 兲 = 共41兲
D1 + jD2
共K − M L␪˙ 2␸21,e兲
␦¨ 共t兲 + ␦共t兲 A + j2␪˙ RC pA
共M L␸21,e + JL␸⬘21,e + mb␸21,e兲 ␦共␪˙ 兲 = 共42兲
D1 + jD2
1
+ ␬␸⬘1,ev共t兲 = where j is the imaginary number and D1 and D2 are given by
共M L␸21,e + JL␸⬘21,e + mb␸21,e兲

−
共M L␸21,e
1
+ J L␸ ⬘ 2
1,e + mb␸21,e兲
G2 cos ␪˙ t 共37兲 冉
D1 = B + 2RC pB 2␨ 冉冑冊 C
B
冊
+ M L␸21,e ␪˙ 2 − K

C pv̇共t兲 +
v共t兲
2Rl
=−
d31Ezwth
2
␸⬘1,e␦˙ 共t兲 共38兲 冉
D2 = 2RC p共B + M L␸21,e兲␪˙ 3 − 2R共␥X + C pK兲 + 2B␨ 冑冊
C ˙
B
␪

An interesting observation from Eq. 共37兲 is that the stiffness term
varies as the hub speed changes. Thus, the beam is more rigid
with a stiffness of K when it is not rotating, which is reduced by
M L␪˙ 2␸21,e due to rotational speed. In other words, the rotation
makes the beam less rigid by a factor proportional to the square of
the rotational speed. Fro共37兲, it follows that if we select ␪˙ such
that K − M L␪˙ 2␸e␸Te ⬎ 0, the dynamic equation is stable since all
coefficients of the equation are positive. If the base moves fast
Using Eq. 共41兲, the average harvested electrical power is given by
兩V兩2 4␪˙ 2R␥2A2
兩P兩 = = 共43兲
R 关共D1兲2 + 共D2兲2兴
Equation 共43兲 can be used to derive an expression for the upper
bound of the maximum power in terms of load resistance R. The
resulting R is the optimum load resistance to be placed across the
harvester. For this value of resistive load, the power is maximized,

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 Table 1 Characteristics of the proposed beam-mass system
and piezoceramic layers

Parameters Beam Piezo

Material Brass PZT

Young’s modulus, E 共N / m2兲 105 66
Length, L 共mm兲 50.8 50.8
Width, b 共mm兲 31.8 31.8
Thickness, t 共mm兲 1.00 0.26 共each兲
Mass density, ␳ 共kg/ m3兲 9000 7800 Fig. 3 Eigenfrequency versus speed of the hub
Charge constant, d31 共pm/V兲 – ⫺190
Permittivity, ␧33 – 1500␧0
Equations 共41兲 and 共43兲 describe closed-form expressions for
Load mass, ML, is 0.1 kg, and its radius is 12.8 mm.
First mode mechanical damping ratio is 0.027. mechanical response and electrical outputs of the system. In this
section, the above formulations are used to simulate the behavior
of the system using parameter values given in Table 1. Figures 4
and 5 illustrate the amplitude of tip speed and the amplitude of
which represents an upper bound of the power that can be har- voltage versus excitation frequency 共angular speed of the hub兲
vested. To this end, let us rewrite Eq. 共43兲 as when the energy harvester is connected to a purely resistive load
共100 k⍀兲. Figure 6 illustrates the harvested power versus fre-
␭R
兩P兩 = 共44兲 quency for the same condition.
关共␣1R + ␣2兲2 + 共␤1R + ␤2兲2兴 The peak power and output voltage of the harvester occur at the
resonance frequency and change with the load resistance 共Fig. 7兲.
where ␭ = 4␪˙ R␥2A2, ␣1 = 2C p共B + M L␸21,e兲␪˙ 3 − 2共␥X + C pK兲␪˙ , ␣2 = The variation in the electrical power with load resistance is not
−2B␨冑C / B␪˙ , ␤ = 4C B␨冑C / B␪˙ 2, and ␤ = 共B + M ␸2 兲␪˙ 2 − K.
1 p 2 L 1,e monotonic. There is an optimum resistive load, which yields the
Solving for dR / dR = 0, Roptimum is given by maximum power. Referring to Fig. 5 and using the natural fre-

Roptimum = 冑 ␣22 + ␤22

␣21 + ␤21
共45兲
quency ␪˙ = 132 rad/ s and other parameters of the system in Eq.
共45兲, an optimum resistive load of 40 k⍀ is obtained. This is the
resistance for which the maximum peak power can be extracted
Substituting Roptimum in the power expression 共44兲 results in from the proposed design, which corresponds to 7.7 mW. By com-
paring the generated power with the power requirement men-
␭ tioned in typical data sheets of wireless sensors 关19兴, it is esti-
Pmax = 共46兲
2冑共␣21 + ␤21兲共␣22 + ␤22兲 mated that this amount is enough to power wireless sensors in
typical health monitoring systems. Figure 6 shows variation in the
Hence, the output power from the harvester cannot be larger than harvested power in resonant frequency versus load resistance.
the value of Pmax at the resonance frequency, which is the upper
bound of the power that can be harvested from the system.
In Eq. 共45兲, the effect of damping on the optimal resistive load
has been neglected. If one differentiates the expression to obtain
the optimal resistance in terms of the damping ratio, the result will
show that an increase in damping results in an increase in the
value of optimal resistance. In fact, mechanical damping for the
mechanical beam-mass system is like the resistance in electrical
circuits. For maximizing the power transfer through the harvester,
one should match the load and source resistances. In Eqs. 共39兲 and
共40兲, the coupling terms are X and ␥, which are functions of such
parameters as piezo constant, modulus of elasticity, and geometry
Fig. 4 Tip velocity for R = 100 K
of the piezoelectric element. Substituting constant values for all
parameters except the piezoelectric coupling in the expression for
optimal resistance indicates that the optimal value is not changed
with a change in the value of the coupling coefficient. This is in
agreement with previous findings that show that the optimal har-
vested power and load are independent of the coupling coefficient
关18兴.

3 Numerical Results
This section presents numerical results to evaluate the feasibil-
ity of the energy harvesting system for the rotary motion applica- Fig. 5 Output voltage for R = 100 K
tions. The geometric and material parameters of the bimorph can-
tilever proposed in this paper are given in Table 1.
As discussed in Sec. 2.3, Eq. 共37兲 describes the dependency of
the eigenfrequency of the system with the angular speed. Figure 3
shows that with an increase in speed, the eigenfrequency of the
system decreases. Also, resonance occurs at 132 rad/s where the
eigenfrequency of the system meets the excitation frequency,
which is the angular speed of the hub. Another observation from
Fig. 3 is that the angular speed of 186.7 rad/s is the critical speed
beyond which the system’s eigenfrequency is negative and, as a
result, is unstable. Fig. 6 Harvested power for R = 100 K

Journal of Vibration and Acoustics FEBRUARY 2011, Vol. 133 / 011005-5

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Fig. 7 Variations in the peak power with load resistance
Fig. 8 Optimal resistance versus damping ratio
As discussed in Sec. 2.4, damping has influence on the value of
the optimal resistive load. Figure 8 shows this impact. When me-
chanical damping increases in the system, the value of the optimal
resistive load becomes higher to maximize the power transfer
through the harvester.
4 Conclusions
The design of a piezoelectric energy harvester for rotary motion
applications is discussed in this study. The piezoelectric energy
harvester consists of a cantilever beam carrying a tip mass, with
the whole system mounted on a rotating horizontal hub. The pro-
posed energy harvester has an inherent source of harmonic force
due to the gravitational force of the tip mass. When the hub rotates
with a constant angular speed, the gravity force on the tip and its
coupling with rotational motion causes the mass-beam system to
vibrate. A multimode mathematical model for the coupled electro-
mechanical system is derived by using the method of assumed
modes combined with the effect of the piezoelectric transducer
layer. The closed-form electromechanical expressions obtained for
the steady state response are utilized to obtain an upper bound of
the harvested power in terms of the load resistance. Simulation
studies are carried out to illustrate the performance of the energy
harvester. The results indicate that the device can be utilized as a
local miniaturized power generator to provide typical currents for
charging batteries of wireless sensors in rotating mechanisms such
as tires and turbines.
Nomenclature
w ⫽ deflection of the beam relative to its base, m
␰ ⫽ normalized position x along the beam
L ⫽ length of the beam, m
E ⫽ Young’s modulus, N / m2
I ⫽ area moment of inertia, m4
␳ ⫽ mass density, kg/ m3
A ⫽ cross sectional area of the beam, m2
011005-6 / Vol. 133, FEBRUARY 2011
Downloaded 21 Jun 2012 to 128.189.225.119. Redistribution subject to ASME license or copyright; see http://www.asme.org/terms/Terms_Use.cfm
␻ ⫽ frequency, rad/s
␪˙ ⫽ angular velocity of the hub, rad/s
ML ⫽ mass of the tip, kg
JL ⫽ moment of inertia of the tip mass, kg m2
T ⫽ kinetic energy, N m
U ⫽ potential energy, N m
b ⫽ width of the beam, m
␨ ⫽ modal damping ratio
2h1 ⫽ thickness of the beam, m
tz ⫽ thickness of piezo, m
d31 ⫽ piezoelectric charge constant, pm/V
␧ ⫽ permittivity, F/m
R ⫽ resistive load, ⍀
V ⫽ voltage, V
P ⫽ power, W
Cp ⫽ piezocapacitance, F
ip ⫽ piezo generated current, A
Subscript
p ⫽ piezoelectric layer electrical property
z ⫽ piezoelectric layer mechanical property
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