Modeling and electromechanical performance analysis of polyvinylidene difluoride/textile-system for energy harvesting from the human body toward a novel class of self-powered sensors

Because batteries' ability to power portable and wireless devices is limited, a great deal of research has been conducted on energy harvesting technology as a self-power source for portable devices. Harvesting mechanical energy from human motion is an attractive approach to obtaining green and renewable energy by converting wasted ambient energy to electrical power. Hence, integrating an energy harvester into shoes is among the most interesting possibilities for harvesting energy from the body. In this paper, we explore the effect of flexible substrate mechanical parameters on the energy harvesting capability of a flexible piezoelectric film. Analytical modeling and simulations of a smart structure composed by polyvinylidene fluoride film stuck on three different textiles substrates have been done to evaluate the ability of this approach to harvest energy and its application within shoes to transform mechanical energy generated by the foot while walking into electrical energy. The maximum harvested power of the polyvinylidene difluoride film under 200 N compressive force was found to be 5.37 mu W on a Cotton textile, which is a potentially useful amount of energy.