Simulation of Acoustic Energy Harvesting Using Piezoelectric Plates in a Quarter-Wavelength Straight-Tube Resonator

B. Li[1], J.H. You[1]
[1]Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
Published in 2012

An acoustic energy harvesting mechanism at low frequency (~200 Hz) using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric cantilever plates placed inside a quarter-wavelength straight-tube resonator has been studied using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3 and compared with experimental data. When the tube resonator is excited by an incident wave at its acoustic eigenfrequency, an amplified acoustic resonant wave inside the tube drives the vibration motion of the piezoelectric plates and generates the electricity. When multiple piezoelectric plates are placed inside the tube resonator, the interaction between air particle motion and piezoelectric plates plays an important role in determining the amount of harvested acoustic power. The calculated results of output voltage and power of the piezoelectric plates match well with experimental data.