A piezoelectric cantilever-beam energy harvester (PCEH) with a rectangular hole in the metal substrate

In order to improve the energy conversion performance of a piezoelectric cantilever-beam energy harvester (PCEH), a novel PCEH is developed and designed according to the typical PCEH. Its middle layer is a metal substrate with a rectangular hole. The mathematical model of the PCEH is analyzed, and the mathematical expressions of the eigenfrequency, the displacement of the proof mass and the output voltage and power are derived. In order to verify the validity of the model, the eigenfrequency and frequency domain are analyzed by using COMSOL and Matlab, and the influence of frequency, load resistance and acceleration on voltage and power is studied. Finally, the experimental verification was carried out to further confirm. The results show that the first-order eigenfrequency of the novel PCEH is 43.7 Hz, the optimal output power is 10.69 mW. Therefore, the novel PCEH has a lower frequency, a wider frequency band, and higher output voltage and power, and improves energy conversion performance.