Design, modeling and experiments of swing L-shape piezoelectric beam applied to tidal and wave energy harvesting

Swing-piezoelectric energy harvesting has the potential to be used for small-scale tidal and wave energy harvesting. A novel method is proposed to capture tidal and wave energy by combining swing motion and piezoelectric elements in this paper. The dynamic equation and electromechanical coupling equation for the Swing Lshaped Beam Piezoelectric Energy Harvester (SLB-PEH) are derived using the Lagrangian equation, and a Simulink-Adams simulation model is constructed. The model's accuracy is confirmed by comparing theoretical, simulated, and experimental outcomes. Furthermore, key parameters' impact on SLB-PEH performance is examined through experiments. The paper introduces an interleaved SLB-PEH to enhance energy capture efficiency within space constraints. It also describes the design of the Integrated Spring Tidal-Wave Piezoelectric Energy Harvester (ISTW-PEH), which is inspired by the interleaved SLB-PEH structure. The experimental results demonstrate that the ISTW-PEH can generate a maximum power output of 13.6 mW at a flow velocity of 0.3 m/s and a maximum power of 57.6 mW under a wave height of 0.08 m and a wave period of 0.08s.