Effect of Random Base Vibrations on the Performance of Piezoelectric Wind Energy Harvesters

Piezoelectric wind energy harvesters can collect a small amount of energy from wind without the need for rotary equipment. In practice, such harvesters can be excited concurrently by wind-induced and base vibrations. In this study, combined wind and base excitation is investigated, with a focus on random base vibrations and the effect of the bandwidth of band-limited random excitation, thereby filling the research gap between results obtained with wide-band random excitation and those with harmonic excitation. Since flow-induced vibrations can produce several phenomena, in this research, galloping and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) harvesters are considered due to their structural similarity and the ease with which a galloping harvester can be converted into a VIV harvester (and vice versa). Both numerical and experimental results are presented. First, the mathematical models are given; then, experimental tests validate the models and provide an insight into the phenomena; finally, numerical simulations extend the dissertation by providing a more in-depth analysis of the behavior of such harvesters. The results show that above the critical wind velocity, galloping harvesters are not affected by the amplitude and bandwidth of random base excitation. In contrast, VIV harvesters in the lock-in condition are affected by random base excitation, especially if the vibration amplitude is large and if its spectrum is concentrated in a narrow band centered about the resonance.