Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 224, 2703-2717 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2015-02584-6

Regular Article

Adaptive tuned piezoelectric MEMS vibration energy harvester using an electrostatic device

College of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

Received: 21 August 2015
Revised: 9 September 2015
Published online: 20 November 2015

Abstract

In this paper an adaptive tuned piezoelectric vibration based energy harvesting system based on the use of electrostatic device is proposed. The main motivation is to control the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric harvester with the DC voltage applied to the electrostatic system in order to maximize the harvested power. The idea is demonstrated in a hybrid system consisting of a cantilevered piezoelectric harvester combined with an electrostatic harvester which is connected to a variable voltage source. The nonlinear governing differential equation of motion is derived based on Euler Bernoulli theory, and solved to obtain the static and dynamic solutions. The results show that the harvester can be tuned to give a resonant response over a wide range of frequencies, and shows the great potential of this hybrid system.