Modeling and simulation of cantilever beam for wind energy harvesting

Energy Harvesting (EH) is the science that studies the conversion of energy dispersed in environment into a different and more useful form of energy, mainly the electrical one. In recent years, several energy-harvesting devices using piezoelectric materials have been developed to transform environmental vibrations into electrical energy. Since most piezoelectric energy harvesters are in form of cantilevered beams, the aim of this paper is to model and simulate a cantilever beam as energy harvester from wind-induced vibrations. The behavior of a cantilever beam with a fixed configuration (dimensions, materials, boundaries and shape) subjected to wind pressure was observed in an experimental apparatus and the reaction of the same device was described with a mathematical model based on piezoelectric constitutive equations and mechanical equilibrium equations. The device was simulated with the Comsol Multiphysics software that implements the equations of the mathematical model by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The experimental results were used to validate the simulation environment and their comparison with calculated results allows an appropriate choice of the most suitable piezoelectric material, among natural crystals, piezo ceramics, piezo polymers and piezocomposites, for this type of cantilever.