Title :
A Low-Cost Snap-Through-Buckling Inkjet-Printed Device for Vibrational Energy Harvesting
Author :
Ando, Bruno ; Baglio, Salvatore ; Bulsara, Adi R. ; Marletta, Vincenzo ; Ferrari, Vittorio ; Ferrari, Marco
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Electron. & Inf. Eng., Univ. of Catania, Catania, Italy
Abstract :
This paper covers a novel methodology for the realization of devices that are able to harvest energy from background mechanical vibrations. The novelties reside in the nonlinear mechanism ruling the harvester behavior and the printed technology used to realize the lab-scale prototype. The nonlinearity of the harvester is desirable, because vibrational energy is usually distributed in a band at low frequency and does not, therefore, lend itself to harvesting through a (linear) resonant device. Printed technology has the advantage of being ultracheap and, hence, suitable for proof-of-concept and rapid laboratory prototyping. In particular, inkjet printing technology affords the realization of low-cost electrodes with high resolution and multiple functional layers. This paper covers the mechanical properties of a snap-through buckling beam and details the results of experiments aimed at investigating the (nonlinear) mechanical properties as well as a theoretical fit to the experimental observations. Moreover, the electrical response of the device and, hence, its suitability for energy-harvesting applications are addressed. Powers on the order of 100 nW have been experimentally estimated by a lab-scale prototype with the aim of demonstrating the proof-of-concept of the snap-through buckling mechanism for energy harvesting.
Keywords :
buckling; energy harvesting; ink jet printing; piezoelectric transducers; vibrations; background mechanical vibration; electrical response; energy harvester nonlinearity; functional layer; inkjet printing technology; lab scale prototype; nonlinear mechanism; power 100 nW; snap through buckling beam; snap through buckling inkjet printed device; vibrational energy harvesting; Acceleration; Electrodes; Finite element analysis; Force; Laser beams; Sensors; Switches; Inkjet Printed; Interdigitated electrodes; Nonlinear Harvester; Piezoelectric; Snap-Through-Buckling; Vibrational Energy Harvesting; Vibrational energy harvesting; inkjet printed; interdigitated electrodes; nonlinear harvester; piezoelectric; snap-through-buckling;
Journal_Title :
Sensors Journal, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/JSEN.2014.2386392