Abstract:

To meet the growing demand for electric vehicles, this paper introduces a novel concept to enhance the energy generation performance of piezoelectric energy harvesters used as charging stations on roads. A lever-type piezoelectric energy harvester with a deformation-guiding mechanism was designed and fabricated to overcome the existing limitations of low electrical output and low durability of piezoelectricity under extremely low road displacement conditions of 1 mm. The proposed harvester achieved a maximum output power of 60.3 mW at a load resistance of 50 kΩ under an input displacement of 1 mm. Thus, the module's electrical performance was significantly higher than that obtained in previous similar studies. The results prove that the energy generated by the proposed harvester can be potentially used as a power source for electric vehicles on smart roads beyond the power supply of various sensor systems on the road. Various advantages are expected by improving the electrical performance of a typical single piezoelectric device from the addition of a simple structure. By significantly increasing the output of a single piezoelectric device, the cost of piezoelectric materials needed to produce the same power can be reduced. The simplicity of the structure can also facilitate fabrication and maintenance.