Double Peak Derived from Piezoelectric Coefficient Nonlinearity and Proposal for Self-Powered Systems

With the development of wireless sensor network (WSN) applications in intelligent monitoring, additional support for the low power consumption wireless nodes can be provided by piezoceramics that harvest vibrational energy. First, we describe the effects of stimulation variations on piezoceramics and the energy harvesting circuit set-up. Two types of piezoceramics were stimulated at different frequencies and amplitudes to obtain the power output characteristics. Then, the energy harvesting circuit was studied and coupled with the piezoceramics. A double peak phenomenon was found in energy harvesting using a hard piezoceramic which gave a direct proof that the nonlinearity of the piezo constant should be considered in application. Finally, energy storage and output were studied and analyzed. Electronic components for the WSN were recommended according to the output power and the application. The results will give an instruction for piezoceramic energy harvesting under various stress amplitudes on its implementation.