Broadband piezoelectric energy harvesting devices using multiple bimorphs with different operating frequencies

This paper presents a novel approach for designing broadband piezoelectric harvesters by integrating multiple piezoelectric bimorphs (PBs) with different aspect ratios into a system. The effect of 2 connecting patterns among PBs, in series and in parallel, on improving energy harvesting performance is discussed. It is found for multifrequency spectra ambient vibrations: 1) the operating frequency band (OFB) of a harvesting structure can be widened by connecting multiple PBs with different aspect ratios in series; 2) the OFB of a harvesting structure can be shifted to the dominant frequency domain of the ambient vibrations by increasing or decreasing the number of PBs in parallel. Numerical results show that the OFB of the piezoelectric energy harvesting devices can be tailored by the connection patterns (i.e., in series and in parallel) among PBs.