A piezoelectric bistable plate for nonlinear broadband energy harvesting

Recently, the idea of using nonlinearity to enhance the performance of vibration-based energy harvesters has been investigated. Nonlinear energy harvesting devices have been shown to be capable of operating over wider frequency ranges delivering more power than their linear counterparts, rendering them more suitable for real applications. In this paper, we propose to exploit the rich nonlinear behavior of a bistable composite plate with bonded piezoelectric patches for broadband nonlinear energy harvesting. The response of the structure is experimentally investigated revealing different large amplitude oscillations. Substantially large power is extracted over a wide frequency range achieving broadband nonlinear energy harvesting. (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.106311.3487780]