Three-Dimensional Printing to Translate Simulation to Architecting for Three-Dimensional High Performance Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

Abstract

The piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) has attracted huge attention as an eco-friendly way to harvest mechanical energy for self-powered system. Structural design is crucial for optimizing the energy conversion efficiency of PEHs, especially some specialized three-dimensional (3D) structures as theoretically predicted. However, there are few reports guiding from the simulation to the real construction of high performance PEHs, and it is usually difficult to use traditional processing methods to realize customized 3D designate structures. Herein, the fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technique is developed to architect four customized 3D PVDF PEHs, and the relationship between the designed structures and corresponding piezoelectric output performances are systematically studied by theoretical simulation. The results show that, with a decreased force-bearing area, the effective deformation of the PEHs along the vertical direction increases, resulting in an excellent piezoelectric output. Thus, the optimal 3D conus arrayed PEH shows the highest piezoelectric output voltage of 8.69 V and current of 90.8 nA, which is about 2.75 times higher than that of the cylinder arrayed one. Additionally, the conus arrayed PEH can fast charge a 1 μF capacitor to 2.5 V within 100 s. This work manifests 3D printing as a powerful tool to reconcile the simulation and architecting for 3D PEHs with enhanced output performance for futuristic self-powered systems.