Piezoelectric energy harvesting via thin annular sectorial plates: an analytical approach

In this paper, energy harvesting from a thin annular sectorial plate, which consists of an elastic layer bonded with two layers of piezoelectric materials, is studied analytically. The Rayleigh damping assumption is used in the model to consider the structural damping. To derive the governing equations, the Hamilton principle for an electro-elastic body is employed based on the classical plate theory, and to solve the derived equations, the Rayleigh–Ritz method is used. The modeling approach is verified against analytical solutions as well as experimental results for rectangular and annular sectorial plates. Finally, the impact of changing some parameters (material properties, electrical boundary conditions, geometrical parameters) on the performance of the system is investigated extensively. It is shown that the annular sector plate energy harvesters can deliver better performance compared to rectangular plate energy harvesters.