SUSTAINABLE POWER GENERATION BY VIBRATIONAL BASED PIEZOELECTRIC ENERGY HARVESTER USING RECTANGULAR, CIRCULAR AND TRIANGULAR -EDGED SHAPES DESIGN PARAMETER OF CANTILEVER FOR CHARGEABLE BATTERIES.

Abstract

Although batteries are widely used, they have notable limitations, including limited energy capacity and environmental concerns related to their disposal. For low-power devices, piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) present a promising alternative that can reduce the need for frequent battery replacement. PEHs have become increasingly important in various engineering applications, such as sensors and actuators, and are now recognized as a key technology for sustainable energy solutions.This paper focuses on the design and evaluation of PEH devices. Using piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), cantilevers with different edge geometries—rectangular, circular, and triangular—were developed. These cantilevers were fabricated with diverse substrate materials, including rigid materials like structural steel and flexible materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Finite element modeling was then employed to analyze the output voltages and resonance frequencies of the designed PEHs.

Simulation results showed that the rectangular-edged cantilever, when combined with PZT and a steel substrate, produced the highest output voltage, reaching up to 1.4 V at a resonance frequency of 250 Hz. In comparison, cantilevers with circular and triangular edges generated lower output voltages, demonstrating the significant effect of cantilever geometry on energy harvesting efficiency. The study also revealed that although flexible substrates such as PET are suitable for certain applications, they generally yield lower output voltages than rigid substrates like steel.