A Comparative Simulation Study of the Different Variations of PZT Piezoelectric Material by Using A MEMS Vibration Energy Harvester

In this article, the presented work aims to scavenge maximum electrical outputs by using the novel microelectromechanical system flared-U shaped spring based piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH). The performance studies were carried out by employing four different variations of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric material namely PZT-4, PZT-5A, PZT-5H, and PZT-8 in the same size and shape of the proposed device. The maximum output powers employing PZT-4, PZT-5A, PZT-5H, and PZT-8 piezoelectric materials are 7.156 nW, 8.657 nW, 10.738 nW, 5.701 nW over 30 Hz, 28.4 Hz, 28.6 Hz, and 30.2 Hz, resonant frequency, respectively, at input acceleration of 0.07 g. From the finite element method simulator COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 (licensed version) simulation-based outcomes, it is inferred that PZT-5H piezoelectric material performs better than other variations of PZT, such as PZT-4, PZT-5A, and PZT-8 piezoelectric materials.