Snap-through buckling mechanism for frequency-up conversion in piezoelectric energy harvesting

This paper describes a piezoelectric energy harvester employing a snap-through buckling (STB) mechanism for frequency-up conversion (FuC). The harvester consists of two main components: a bistable mechanical structure and one piezoelectric cantilever beam. The device is designed by means of analytical methods and numerical simulations. A proof-of-concept prototype is manufactured and tested under low frequency mechanical excitation. Experimental results show that, if the STB is induced, from the second stable configuration back to the undeformed one, the FuC is obtained and the response of the beam presents frequency components in a wide range, even though the resonant frequency of the cantilever beam is not excited. The results are hence in agreement with the expected behavior: if the device, forced in the second stable configuration, is subject to a low-frequency excitation whose amplitude exceeds a threshold, STB is triggered and the ensuing FuC provokes a widening of the beam vibrations frequency range and consequently a significant effectiveness in terms of power output. A maximum power of 4 mW is obtained by using an optimal resistive load as STB from a stable configuration of the bistable mechanism to the other one is triggered; a maximum energy of 4.5 μJ is obtained in case of a rectifier circuit with storage capacitor.