Shape Optimization of Microfiber Composite Energy Harvesters

<p>A model of energy harvesting beam with a piezoelectric material, microfiber composite (MFC), in a unimorph configuration was setup in Matlab using the governing equations of motions of a coupled electromechanical system. The equations of motion were derived using Hamilton’s variational principles and constitutive relations of a piezoelectric material. The mathematical model developed in Matlab was validated with an experiment and frequency response functions. The validated model was used to perform shape optimization so as to obtain the shape of the beam and the patch that harvests the largest voltage. The shape variables were length of the beam (LB), length of the patch (LP), and width of the beam. Optimization reveals that voltage increases with length of the beam and with an inverse tapering (increasing width) of the beam from the root to the tip. This approach presents a systematic way to design energy harvesters and can serve as the basis for the conceptual design of energy harvester for applications such as morphing wings, smart shoe, MEMS devices, etc.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aerospace Engineering

Year

2020

Author dc:creator

• Lahoti, Suyash

• shape optimization
• microfiber
• composite
• energy harvesters
• Aerospace Engineering
• Structures and Materials

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.erau.edu/edt/528

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.erau.edu:edt-1528