Enhanced Acoustic Energy Harvesting Using Coupled Resonance Structure of Sonic Crystal and Helmholtz Resonator

An acoustic energy harvester using a coupled resonance structure of a sonic crystal resonator and an electromechanical Helmholtz resonator with a piezoelectric composite diaphragm is proposed to enhance energy harvesting. Due to acoustic resonance coupling between the sonic crystal resonator and the Helmholtz resonator, the coupled resonance structure has a larger acoustic pressure magnification than each individual resonator structure. Consequently, the stronger vibration of the diaphragm and the higher harvesting efficiency are obtained. Experimental results show that the proposed harvester exhibits similar to 23 and similar to 262 times higher maximum harvesting efficiencies than the sonic crystal resonator and the Helmholtz resonator structure, respectively. (C) 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics