Piezoelectric energy harvesting from vibrations of a beam subjected to multi-moving loads

This study is intended to investigate piezoelectric energy harvesting from vibrations of a beam induced by multi-moving loads. Various multi-moving loads are analyzed by considering various parameters. The system of equations for electro-mechanical materials is derived by using the generalized Hamilton's principle under the assumptions of the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The electromechanical behavior of piezoelectric harvesters in a unimorph configuration is analyzed using finite element method. The Newmark's explicit integration technique is adopted for the transient analysis. The predictions of the results of the finite element models are verified by that of the available solutions. The effects of piezoelectric bonding location, velocity and number of moving loads as well as time lags between moving loads on the produced power are investigated. The numerical results show that the investigated parameters have significant effects on the energy harvesting from a vibration of beams under the action of multi-moving loads.