Design, Modelling and Experimental Analysis of a Piezoelectric Wind Energy Generator for Low-Power Applications

Abstract Over the last few decades the consumption of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources has risen concerns regarding the protection of the environment. With this in mind, this work presents a design, characterization and numerical and experimental analyses of a wind turbine using piezoelectric transducers for low power (mW) devices based on the concept of energy harvesting. The prototype has approximate dimensions of 84.5 × 87 × 20 mm3; the excitation is performed by permanent magnets, which were glued to the generator's axis with a 120° lag. Every magnet interacts with the free end of a steel beam (60 × 13 × 0.15 mm3), with a piezoelectric ceramic (PZT C-64) on its surface. Different numerical and experimental analyses were performed to optimize the beam geometry, piezo dimension, the mass fixed at the beam's end, the generated electrical voltage and especially the available maximum output power. Finally, the best performing model is reported for different working conditions, providing a maximum output power of 2.06 mW for only one beam and 3.78 mW for three beams in parallel association, with an associated power density of 18.8 μW/mm3 and 11.5 μW/mm3, respectively.