Design of an Efficient Energy Harvesting System for Smart Grid Connection Based on Piezoelectric Technology

The production of electrical energy is now a crucial component of the power system due to the rising demand brought on by population expansion and economic development. Experts are looking for new and more sustainable energy sources to meet the rising demand. One of the most promising methods in the sector is the application of piezoelectric material to transform environmental vibrations into electrical energy. The proposed study focuses on the design, optimization, and experimental validation of an effective piezoelectric-based energy-harvesting prototype that serves as the foundation for the development of a modular piezoelectric system to capture the kinetic energy of moving people and traffic for integration and connection with smart grids. In this study, four different configurations of two types of piezoelectric materials were examined and compared in both simulation and experimental tests. The four examined configurations are: series connection, parallel connection, series-parallel connection and parallel-series connection. Two different prototypes are implemented, which include eight piezoelectric elements. The amount of stored energy produced by both prototypes demonstrates how effective the parallel-series configuration is in terms of simulation and experimental results.