Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Using a Novel Cymbal Transducer Design

A novel bridge transducer based on the cymbal design has been developed for energy harvesting from impact loading by vehicle-induced deformations in pavement. The bridge transducer consists of a 2 mm thick 32x32 mm square soft PZT ceramic and hardened steel end caps. A novel electrode design is used to polarize the piezoelectric ceramic along its length, effectively utilizing d(33) mode for enhanced energy generation. A prototype module with 64 bridge transducers were fabricated and loaded repeatedly to simulate vehicle traffic on a highway. When compared to the conventional transducer design, horizontal poling increases energy and voltage considerably. Each loading of the prototype transducer module generates 0.83 mJ of energy. Loading under simulated traffic conditions at 5 Hz generated 2.1 mW at a resistive load of 400 kOhm.