A study on the energy harvesting performance and corresponding theoretical models of piezoelectric seismic energy harvesters

The self-powered technology of earthquake sensors and the seismic energy utilization have not been solved well up to now although earthquake includes mega energy. In view of this, a series of piezoelectric seismic energy harvesters (PSEHs) are developed, and their corresponding experiments and simulations about energy harvesting performance are conducted in the excitation of different seismic waves. The effects of some important design parameters on the output voltage and power of PSEHs are studied and discussed. The research results show that U-shaped PSEH has a good ability and ideal robustness in energy harvesting from different seismic waves. For example, the root mean square (RMS) voltages and RMS powers from U-shaped PSEH are 104 V and 11.1 mW for El-Centro wave with a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.024 g, which is feasible to supply an earthquake sensor. Based on the experiment and simulation research, a series of theoretical models are derived to predict the output voltage and power of U-shaped PSEH with different design parameters and different PGAs, these theoretical models give reliable instructions for the design of U-shaped PSEH to match the earthquake sensors in the area authorized by different earthquake intensities.