Random vibration energy harvesting on thin plates using multiple piezopatches

Vibrational energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilever beams has received significant attention over the past decade. When compared to piezoelectric cantilever-based harvesters, piezopatch energy harvesters integrated on plate-like thin structures can be a more efficient and compact option to supply electrical power for wireless structural health and condition monitoring systems. In this article, electroelastic modeling, analytical and numerical solutions, and experimental validations of piezopatch-based energy harvesting from stationary random vibrations of thin plates are presented. Electroelastic models for the series and parallel connected multiple piezopatches are given based on a distributed-parameter modeling approach for a thin host plate excited by a transverse point force. The analytical and numerical solutions for the mean power output and the mean-square shunted vibration response are then derived. The experimental measurements are carried out by employing a fully clamped thin plate with three piezopatches connected in series. It is shown that the analytical and numerical model predictions for the mean power output and the mean-square velocity response are in very good agreement with the experimental measurements. The electroelastic modeling framework and solution methods presented in this work can be used for design, performance analysis, and optimization of piezoelectric energy harvesting from stationary random vibration of thin plates.