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An Analytical–Numerical Method for Simulating the Performance of Piezoelectric Harvesters Mounted on Wing Slats

Authors :
Domenico Tommasino
Federico Moro
Eneko Zumalde
Jan Kunzmann
Alberto Doria
Source :
Actuators; Volume 12; Issue 1; Pages: 29
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2023.

Abstract

Recently, there have been significant developments in the field of vibration energy harvesters to feed sensors for structural health monitoring in aeronautics and other high technology fields. Within the framework of the EU InComEss project, new eco-friendly piezoelectric materials are under development. A foreseen application is vibration energy harvesting from the wing slats of aircraft. Semi-analytical models of the vibrating slat make it possible to estimate the maximum voltage that can be generated by a piezoelectric patch bonded to a slat surface. A more detailed analysis must consider details of the three-dimensional geometry of both the harvester and the bonding layer. This can only be carried out with multiphysics finite element software. A finite element model of a whole slat would require a large computational effort as millions of elements are typically needed to model very thin piezoelectric layers. To simplify this analysis, an integrated analytical–numerical method is proposed in this paper. A large-scale analytical model of the whole slat was used to calculate loads on the portion of the slat where a piezoelectric patch was attached. Then, a small-scale finite element model of the portion of the slat with the piezoelectric patch was used to calculate the open circuit voltage generated by the patch. The response of the harvester to random excitation, typical of aeronautic applications, was calculated. The effects of the details of the harvester design on the generated voltage were analyzed and discussed.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20760825
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Actuators; Volume 12; Issue 1; Pages: 29
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....7169f1da1a0b0b6a8b88e7e9ed090244
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/act12010029