Date of Award
8-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Mechanical Engineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Li, Gang
Committee Member
Daqaq , Mohammed
Committee Member
Zhao , Huijuan
Abstract
A wind energy harvester inspired by music playing harmonicas was proposed for micro-power generation. The energy harvester utilizes flow-excited self-sustained oscillations of a piezoelectric cantilever beam mounted in a wind pipe to generate electric power. The dependence of the energy harvester's power generation performance on a set of the design parameters such as the chamber volume, aperture width and beam dimensions has been studied previously. However, the performance of the nonlinear multi-physics system with two-way fluid structure coupling also depends on other design parameters such as the geometry of the oscillatory beam, the beam mounting configuration and the geometry of the pipe outlet. A systematic design analysis of the effects of these parameters is necessary for the optimization of the energy harvester. In this study, theoretical and computational modeling and design analysis are performed to investigate the influence of the design parameters of beam geometry and pipe outlet structure on the performance of the wind energy harvester. It is known that the increase of the beam bending displacement induces a larger strain in the piezoelectric layer and a higher electric energy output of the wind harvester. In addition, the decrease of the threshold wind velocity and pressure will enhance the energy harvester's adaptability. The beam bending displacement and the threshold wind velocity are thus taken as the performance measures in this work. Theoretical models are developed to take into account different beam geometries. The analysis results show that the beam shape has a significant effect on the performance. 3-D finite element models are constructed for various designs. The theoretical analysis results are verified by the numerical simulations. In addition, by using the finite element model, the effect of several pipe outlet design parameters are studied. It is shown that the device performance can be improved with an optimal beam mounting position and a smooth pipe outlet wall.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Songkai, "THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN ANALYSIS OF A HARMONICA TYPE AEROELASTIC ENERGY HARVESTER" (2014). All Theses. 1889.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/1889