A unified electromechanical finite element dynamic analysis of multiple segmented smart plate energy harvesters: circuit connection patterns

Abstract

This paper presents the techniques for formulating the multiple segmented smart plate structures with different circuit connection patterns using the electromechanical finite element dynamic analysis. There are three major contributions in the proposed numerical studies. First, the electromechanical discretization has been developed for generalizing the coupled system of Kirchhoff’s smart plate structures with circuit connection patterns. Such constitutive numerical models reduced from the extended Lagrange equations can be used for the physical systems including, but not restricted to, the multiple piezoelectric and electrode segments. Second, the multiple piezoelectric or electrode segments can be arranged electrically in parallel, series, and mixed series–parallel connections with the on–off switching techniques where the electrical outputs of each connection are further connected with the standard AC–DC circuit interfaces. Third, the coupling transformation technique (CTT) has been introduced by modifying the orthonormalized global element matrices into the scalar form equations. As a result, the multimode frequency response function and time-waveform signal response equations are distinctly formulated for each circuit connection. Further parametric numerical case studies are also discussed in this paper. The benefit of using the circuit connection patterns with the on–off switching techniques is that the studies can be used for an adaptive vibration power harvester