Hydraulic pressure ripple energy harvesters generate low-power electricity from off-resonance dynamic pressure excitation of piezoelectric elements. Improvements were made to hydraulic pressure ripple energy harvester prototype performance. Hydraulic systems inherently have a high energy intensity associated with the mean pressure and flow. Accompanying the mean pressure is dynamic pressure ripple, which is caused by the action of pumps and actuators. Pressure ripple is generally a deterministic source with a periodic time-domain behavior conducive to energy harvesting. An energy harvester prototype was designed for generating low-power electricity from pressure ripples. These devices generate low-power electricity from off-resonance dynamic pressure excitation. The power produced per volume of device was increased through decreasing the device size and adding an inductor to the system circuit. The prototype device utilizes a piezoelectric stack with high overall capacitance allowing for inductance matching without using a switching circuit. Initial testing with addition of an inductor produced over 2.1 mW, an increase of 78% as compared to the device without the inductor. Two power output model simulations of a resistive-inductive circuit are analyzed: (1) ideal circuit case and (2) non-ideal circuit case with inductor internal resistance included.

Date Published: 10 April 2013
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 8688, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2013, 868803 (10 April 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2014263

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8688:
Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2013
Henry Sodano, Editor(s)