Piezoelectric Micro-fiber Composite Structure for Sensing and Energy Harvesting Applications

This paper deals with problematics of energy harvesting and sensing using micro-fiber piezocomposite elements. During the past decade, piezocomposite materials have become an interest of many research activities and due to their favourable properties they have been utilized in wide spectrum of low power applications. Energy harvesting and non-destructive sensing is one of the areas that offers an interesting and challenging opportunity for the application of piezocomposite elements. However, because of the relatively complicated nature of a piezocomposite structure, it is necessary to integrate electronics for signal processing, control, and power management into the sensing or energy harvesting device. There are commercially available solutions in the form of integrated circuits that can be used for general applications of piezoelectric sensors and energy harvesters, they are, however, not optimized for specific piezoelectric materials and applications and do not allow using the elements up to their maximum potential. Therefore, it is necessary to design electronics with respect to the parameters of the element and a create a solution for a specific application. The aim of this paper is to formulate and measure key parameters and characteristics of a specific piezocomposite element and suggest a suitable way of signal processing and power management for sensing and energy harvesting applications.