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Harvesting Vibrational Energy with the Volture™

The wireless Volture™ Piezoelectric Energy Harvester converts vibrations into electrical energy.

The Volture™ Piezoelectric Energy Harvester uses the piezoelectric effect to convert normally wasted mechanical energy in the form of vibrations into useable electrical energy. Any application where sensing is needed and there is a consistent vibration to harvest from can benefit from the Volture™. Midé prides itself on providing low cost effective energy harvesting solutions for all applications.

Clamping

The V21BL should be clamped at its base to allow for resonant frequency energy harvesting. The picture (right) shows the required clamp line for efficient and safe operation.

Polarity: Pins 1&3 = V+, Pins 2&4 = V-.

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The performance data was obtained using a LING laboratory shaker.  The sinusoidal vibration profile varied with amplitude and frequency, as shown on the plot to the right.  The harvester was tuned with a small tungsten tuning mass as described above.  The resistive load used for these tests was 100kΩ.

Natural Frequency

For optimized energy harvesting, the natural frequency of the V21BL should to be matched to the frequency of the relevant vibration. Attaching a tungsten tuning mass at the tip of the beam tunes the V21BL to the desired frequency. Some form of adhesive or wax is the best option for attaching the mass.

CAUTION: Piezo material is very brittle, do NOT twist or bend the beam when attaching the mass. Do NOT exceed a 4G vibration amplitude at frequencies lower than 90Hz, as this will certainly crack the piezoelectric material, and leave the harvester ineffective.

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Energy Harvesting Applications

Helicopters
A vibration rich environment and a great need for sensing make helicopters one of the great applications for vibration based energy harvesting. Helicopters are complex systems which require extensive sensing to remain working at peak efficiency. Providing power to these sensors is not only costly and complex, it also adds a significant amount of weight to the vehicle which the helicopter operators can not afford. Midé’s robust energy harvesting devices are a cost effective means to enable wireless power and sensing for helicopter applications.

Oil and Gas
From down hole drilling to refining plant operations, vibration energy harvesting is a low cost and highly effective means to improve the efficiency of and protect high value operations and assets. The cost and complexity associated with replacing batteries in a wireless sensor network assisting an oil and gas operation operate efficiently is not worth the investment. However, if the sensor nodes can harvest vibration energy from the environment and use that energy to power the wireless node, the true value in the sensor network can be fully realized. Midé’s robust energy harvesting systems are perfectly suited for these harsh oil and gas applications

Building and Plant Automation
Every business and individual is striving to improve their efficiency and reduce their footprint. This is achieved by operating assets more effectively and efficiently. The best means to do this is to have detailed knowledge of all parameters affecting your system and respond based on the most detailed information. For many applications and systems such as building and plant automation this means outfitting equipment with many different types of sensors. These sensors need power. Hardwired power can be costly to install. Battery power is costly to maintain. A device that can harvest energy from the environment to power the sensor system enables large scale wireless sensor networks that can drastically improve the efficiency of operations.