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With the continuous growth of global demand for renewable energy, the utilization of rainwater resources has gradually become a focal point of research. Piezoelectric energy harvesting has received significant attention because the harvester has simple structure, high energy conversion efficiency, and self-powering capability. However, traditional piezoelectric energy harvesters are limited by the narrow resonance frequency bandwidth and the insufficient waterproofing ability, which restricts the adaptability of energy conversion to variable environmental excitations. To solve this problem, a broadband piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester for rainwater energy harvesting is designed in this work. The influence mechanisms of droplet impact parameters, waterproof encapsulation technology, and MFC cantilever structure on the electrical output performance are studied through theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental validation. It reveals that the droplet’s Weber number exhibits a direct proportionality with the impact force, which is distributed within the 0–80 Hz frequency range. Simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the U-shaped piezoelectric energy harvester significantly outperforms other designs in terms of broadening the resonant frequency range and extending oscillation duration, achieving an oscillation time of 23.7 s, a charge transfer of 2.82 μC, and an output power density of 37.76 W/m2 under a single impact. It demonstrates its efficient energy harvesting capability in a wide resonance frequency range. Additionally, the U-shaped design also improves its waterproof performance, thus further enhancing its applicability in rainwater environments. This study provides a novel, universally applicable approach for collecting rainwater energy, expands the application scenarios of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology, and provides theoretical references and practical guidance for designing and applying broadband energy harvesters.
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Keywords:
- finite element model /
- rainwater energy harvesting /
- piezoelectric energy harvester /
- structure design
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图 1 悬臂梁结构模型 (a) 压电悬臂梁; (b) 封装压电悬臂梁; (c) U形压电悬臂梁
Figure 1. Cantilever beam structure models: (a) Piezoelectric cantilever beam; (b) piezoelectric cantilever beam with a waterproof layer; (c) U-shaped piezoelectric cantilever beam.
图 2 (a) 压电俘能器模型示意图及实物图; (b) MFC结构示意图
Figure 2. (a) Schematic and photo of the energy harvester; (b) schematic of MFC.
图 3 (a) 不同水滴直径和(b) 不同冲击速度的冲击力曲线
Figure 3. Impact force curves under different (a) droplet diameters and (b) impact velocities.
图 4 水滴冲击力频域分布图
Figure 4. Frequency domain of water droplet impact force.
图 5 悬臂梁结构扫频 (a) 悬臂梁基板材料; (b)悬臂梁长度
Figure 5. Frequency sweep of cantilever beam structure: (a) Substrate materials; (b) cantilever lengths.
图 6 不同封装层厚度电压输出 (a)频域结果; (b)时域结果
Figure 6. Encapsulation layer thickness: (a) Frequency-domain; (b) time-domain.
图 7 S3结构不同附加悬臂梁长度频域分布图
Figure 7. Frequency-domain of U-shaped cantilever beam with additional beams.
图 8 S3结构不同上梁长度开路电压仿真结果
Figure 8. Simulation results of open-circuit voltage of S3.
图 9 不同水滴冲击速度下压电悬臂梁开路电压
Figure 9. Voltage of piezoelectric cantilever beams under different impact velocities.
图 10 不同封装厚度 (a)负载电压; (b) 负载功率
Figure 10. Under encapsulation thicknesses: (a) Load voltage; (b) load power.
图 11 不同上梁长度比较 (a)开路电压; (b)短路电流; (c)转移电荷量; (d)负载电压和功率
Figure 11. Comparisons of upper beam lengths: (a) Open-circuit voltage; (b) short-circuit current; (c) transferred charge; (d) load voltage and power.
图 12 真实雨水环境测试图
Figure 12. Rainwater environmental test.
表 1 水滴能量收集装置性能数据
Table 1. Performance of the droplet energy harvesting devices from studies.
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