Frequency-up conversion for energy harvesting : piezoelectric beam and magnetic forces

In everyday objects, we face with producing smart and autonomous sensors networks which can help us in discovering, understanding and controlling our environment. For realizing this goal, new sensors should be small, costless and independent. Also these ultra small systems must be able to run with extremely low amount of power.. This orientation has introduced progresses for energy harvesting technology, useful solutions for eliminating the batteries or complex electric circuits, thus developing the basis for battery-less autonomous sensors networks which can produce the energy they require for their operations independently Piezoelectric Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) energy harvesting is an attractive technology for harvesting very low amount of energy from ambient vibrations. This thesis presents last developments of this technology such as 1) cantilever 2) frequency up converter; piezoelectric beam vibration and magnetic forces. The major advanced significant additional prospective in this thesis are: Simulation and analyzing structural model of piezoelectric layered cantilever which is simulated by the aim of COMSOL-Multiphasics application. This cantilever is affected by magnetic forces under influence of two magnets. The main result has to preserve a simple structural model with the content of effects connected to the actual three-dimensional shape of the device. Developing the model for piezoelectric harvesters which properly include nonlinear stretching strain and piezoelectric coupling. The main result has to show that the generated energy captured by resonant energy harvesters is similar to the analytical experiences. Simulating a simple and useful frequency up conversion mechanism that considers MEMS scale integration and also is fully compatible with Nano scale definitions.