Design of a Novel Two-Directional Piezoelectric Energy Harvester With Permanent Magnets and Multistage Force Amplifier

This article presents the design and testing of a novel two-directional (2-D) piezoelectric stack-based energy harvester for capturing the mechanical energy from the human footstep. The uniqueness of the harvester lies in the fact that the energy of 2-D excitation is scavenged by a single piezoelectric stack transducer, which can reduce the loss of harvestable energy. The harvester is constructed by the integration of permanent magnets, position protection plates, and multistage force amplification frame. The input force and input displacement are restricted to guarantee the device's safety. The reported multistage force amplification frame with leverage mechanism and bridge-type amplifier enlarges the force acting on the piezoelectric stack, which further improves the power output. A linear guiding mechanism based on leaf flexure is applied to minimize the impact of input forces in other than moving directions. Through analytical modeling, the main architectural parameters of the device are determined. Simulation study with finite-element analysis is conducted to optimize the device parameters for achieving the largest force amplification ratio with a high safety factor. A prototype harvester is fabricated for experimental study. Results demonstrate the feasibility of the developed 2-D piezoelectric stack-based energy harvester.