Optimal Road Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Design Based on a Free-End Simply Supported Beam Structure

Purpose Road vibration energy harvester using piezoelectric materials provides a potential power source for the transformation of the current energy structure. Therefore, the focus of an increasing number of studies has been placed on applications of piezoelectric materials, especially their application in piezoelectric transducers. In this study, a new type of simply supported beam (SSB) piezoelectric transducer is proposed for the harvesting of road vibration energy under traffic loads. Methods Based on theoretical and experimental studies of different beam models, the influence of support on the piezoelectric output is investigated and the excellent performance of the SSB model in road energy harvester is confirmed. To verify the energy capture efficiency, a highly integrated transducer with 30 piezoelectric vibrators which was based on the SSB model is systematically tested under a simulated traffic load. Results The results indicate that the output of the transducer reaches a maximum of 96.48 V and 1.36 W under a displacement of 2 mm. At a best matching impedance value of ~ 5 kΩ, an output power density of 23.41 W/m 2 is obtained. Conclusions The developed transducer can be applied in an actual roadway energy harvester.