Optimization of a piezoaeroelastic energy harvester

Abstract

Extracting energy from flow-excited structures and its conversion to electricity could complement existing alternative energy sources. Different experimental setups have appeared in the literature. The conversion of aeroelastic vibrations into electrical energy using piezoelectric transduction has been investigated in the laboratory of aeroelasticity of EESC-USP. The experimental setup is non-linear aeroelastic typical section with two degrees of freedom. Piezoceramics are introduced to the plunge degree of freedom of the system. The electrodes are connected to a generator circuit. Linear and non-linear piezoaeroelastic numerical models have been verified against the experimental results obtained from the wind tunnel tests. The main motivation in this proposal is to design a hand-size piezoaeroelastic generator from the existing coupled typical section. This generator could be used to power batteries of communication devices such as portable radios and mobiles. The goal here is use a non-linear piezoaeroelastic model (previously developed in the group) in a non-dimensional version to optimize the generator typical section, i.e. maximum power from limit cycle oscillations (LCOs) at a non-dimensional airflow speed. Later an airflow speed will be assumed (available at ambient conditions) and dimensions of the generator obtained in order to verify if the hand size generator can be fabricated. (AU)