Using aeroelastic structures with nonlinear switching electronics to increase potential energy yield in airflow: investigating analog control circuitry for automated peak detection

Bending piezoelectric transducers have the ability to harvest energy from aeroelastic vibrations induced by the ambient airflow. Such harvesters can have useful applications in the operation of low power devices, and their relatively small size makes them ideal for use in urban environments over civil infrastructure. One of the areas of focus regarding piezoelectric energy harvesting is the circuit topology used to store the harvested power. This study aims to further investigate the increase in potential energy yield from the piezoelectric harvester by optimizing the circuitry connecting the piezoelectric transducer and the power storage interface. When compared to an optimal resistive load case, it has been shown that certain circuit topologies, specifically synchronized switching and discharging to a storage capacitor through an inductor (SSDCI), can increase the charging power by as much as 400% if the circuit is completely lossless. This paper proposes a strategy for making a self-sufficient SSDCI circuit capable of peak detection for the synchronized switching using analog components. Using circuit simulation software, the performance of this proposed self-sufficient circuit is compared to an ideal case, and the effectiveness of the self-sufficient circuit strategy is discussed based on these simulation results. Further investigation of a physical working model of the new circuit proposal will be developed and experimental results of the circuit's performance obtained and compared to the estimated performance from the model.