Design and simulation analysis of a novel pneumatic-piezoelectric generator

In order to realize the pressure energy harvesting of pneumatic system, a novel pneumatic-piezoelectric generator is proposed in this paper. The bending deformation of piezoelectric plate is induced under the impact of air supply pressure. The transformation from pressure energy to electric energy is realized based on direct piezoelectric effect. The simulation analysis of flow field distribution in the cavity is carried out by using the FLUENT software. The result indicates that the higher pressure area locates at the center of cavity bottom, thus the area is more suitable to arrange PZT plate. The structure of the pneumatic-piezoelectric generator is designed. The generator mainly consists of a cylinder and a piezoelectric generating device. A PZT plate with dimensions of diameter 35 mm and thickness 0.2 mm is attached on the top of the pedestal. The generation characteristic of the generator is analyzed through the ANSYS software. The generation increases obviously with the increase of pressure based on the simulation result. A prototype of the generator is fabricated and a test system is established. The generating characteristic is tested and the results state that the maximum voltage is 8.48 V under a condition of 0.3 MPa.