Piezoelectric energy is a renewable alternative energy source that operates on a smaller scale than renewable energy generation plants which generate Mega-Giga Watts of power. Its potential to 'eliminate' contemporary batteries, which are classified as hazardous wastes, makes it an important technological advancement in a world increasingly concerned about eliminating waste, increasing sustainability and shifting to more 'green' consumption habits.Authored by a pioneer of piezoelectric actuators and piezoelectric energy harvesting, this unique compendium provides a solid theoretical background of piezoelectrics, practical material selection, device design optimization, and energy harvesting electric circuits. Included in each chapter are a list of chapter essentials, check points, example problems and solutions, and practice problems.Written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, university researchers, and industry engineers studying or working in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesting systems, the useful reference text provides readers with the essential knowledge to conduct research and raises readers' awareness of known pitfalls and mis-directions in the field.

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

This book covers the topic of vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials. Piezoelectric materials are analyzed in the context of their electromechanical coupling, heterogeneity, microgeometry and interrelations between electromechanical properties. Piezoelectric ceramics and composites based on ferroelectrics are advanced materials that are suitable for harvesting mechanical energy from vibrations using inertial energy harvesting which relies on the resistance of a mass to acceleration and kinematic energy harvesting which couples the energy harvester to the relative movement of different parts of a source. In addition to piezoelectric materials, research efforts to develop optimization methods for complex piezoelectric energy harvesters are also reviewed. The book is important for specialists in the field of modern advanced materials and will stimulate new effective piezotechnical applications.

Energy Harvesting Technologies provides a cohesive overview of the fundamentals and current developments in the field of energy harvesting. In a well-organized structure, this volume discusses basic principles for the design and fabrication of bulk and MEMS based vibration energy systems, theory and design rules required for fabrication of efficient electronics, in addition to recent findings in thermoelectric energy harvesting systems. Combining leading research from both academia and industry onto a single platform, Energy Harvesting Technologies serves as an important reference for researchers and engineers involved with power sources, sensor networks and smart materials.

The electromechanical coupling effect introduced by piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting (PVEH) presents serious modeling challenges. This book provides close-form accurate mathematical modeling and experimental techniques to design and validate dual function PVEH vibration absorbing devices as a solution to mitigate vibration and maximize operational efficiency. It includes in-depth experimental validation of a PVEH beam model based on the analytical modal analysis method (AMAM), precisely identifying electrical loads that harvest maximum power and induce maximum electrical damping. The author's detailed analysis will be useful for researchers working in the rapidly emerging field of vibration based energy harvesting, as well as for students investigating electromechanical devices, piezoelectric sensors and actuators, and vibration control engineering.

This book investigates in detail piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) technology, assessing its potential us to replace conventional electrochemical batteries with kinetic energy harvesters as sustainable power supplies in wireless sensor network (WSN) devices and mobile electronics, which are originally exposed to ambient vibration. Studies on PEH have attracted engineers and scientists from various disciplines, such as electrical, mechanical, materials, civil and biomedical engineering. Pursuing a holistic approach, the book establishes a fundamental framework for this topic, while emphasizing the importance of integrated analysis and the significant influence of circuit issues in the design and optimization of PEH systems. This approach will help readers from different disciplines recognize the essential aspects of and milestones towards the optimization of PEH systems in practice. The book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in energy harvesting technology, researchers investigating kinetic energy harvesting systems, and structure/circuit design engineers working on self-powered WSNs or other energy harvesting applications.

This book presents new approaches to R&D of piezoelectric actuators and generators of different types based on established, original constructions and contemporary research into framework of theoretical, experimental, and numerical methods of physics, mechanics, and materials science. Improved technical solutions incorporated into the devices demonstrate high output values of voltage and power, allowing application of the goods in various areas of energy harvesting. The book is divided into seven chapters, each presenting main results of the chapter, along with a brief exposition of novel findings from around the world proving context for the author’s results. It presents particular results of the Soviet and Russian schools of Mechanics and Material Sciences not previously available outside of Russia.