Design and prototype implementation of an automatic energy harvesting system for low power devices from vibration of vehicles

The need for electrical power supply has spurred different technologies to cater the requisite. Energy harvesting from ambient vibration is a promising mechanism to satisfy the indispensible power requirements. Piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems are perfectly used to convert mechanical strain into a usable form. Hence it requires a system to be developed to harvest electrical power. In automobile industry, battery is the vital device for power supply and is being charged using the fuel. This in turn would have an impact on fuel consumption of the automobile. The alternate for this can be the unused vibration from engine mount to charge the battery. The anticipated system would obtain its input from the unused vibration prevailing in the car engine and is the mechanical source. They are projected on the state-of-the-art micro thin film cantilever piezoelectric sensor and it would provide electrical energy and it would be supplied to the low power appliances. Before being supplied to the appliances, it is necessary to develop a proper power management and signal conditioning circuits. A practical model of the system is developed to verify the experimental results emphasizing on device-design innovation with high efficiency and conversion technology.