Description
The ability to capture yet untapped resources is critical to the future of energy supply. There were many motivations behind energy harvesting, and the most important is the issue of climate change and global warming. The goal of this research is to theoretically and experimentally investigate the behaviors of an energy harvesting system constructed with a bimorph cantilever built of Lead Zirconate titanate (Pb[ZrxTi1.x]O3) and tungsten proof mass to convert vibration energy into electrical energy and a mechanical system built on a gear reduction mechanism to convert the translational motion into rotational and further into electrical energy. Gear reduction is used in order to maximize the rotational motion out of translational. Based on simulation, it was found that the piezoelectric bimorph cantilever generator can produce up to 8V with the frequency range of 150 Hz and the mechanical system built on a gear reduction mechanism can produce up to 6V.
