Nonlinear energy harvesting from vibratory disc-shaped piezoelectric laminates

Implementing resonators with geometrical nonlinearities in vibrational energy harvesting systems leads to considerable enhancement of their operational bandwidths. This advantage of nonlinear devices in comparison to their linear counterparts is much more obvious especially at small-scale where transition to nonlinear regime of vibration occurs at moderately small amplitudes of the base excitation. In this paper the nonlinear behavior of a disc-shaped piezoelectric laminated harvester considering midplane-stretching effect is investigated. Extended Hamilton's principle is exploited to extract electromechanically coupled governing partial differential equations of the system. The equations are firstly order-reduced and then analytically solved implementing perturbation method of multiple scales. A nonlinear finite element method(FEM) simulation of the system is performed additionally for the purpose of verification which shows agreement with the analytical solution to a large extent. The frequency response of the output power at primary resonance of the harvester is calculated to investigate the effect of nonlinearity on the system performance. Effect of various parameters including mechanical quality factor, external load impedance and base excitation amplitude on the behavior of the system are studied. Findings indicate that in the nonlinear regime both output power and operational bandwidth of the harvester will be enhanced by increasing the mechanical quality factor which can be considered as a significant advantage in comparison to linear harvesters in which these two factors vary in opposite ways as quality factor is changed.     

Effects of van der Waals force on nonlinear vibration of electromechanical integrated electrostatic harmonic actuator

An electromechanical integrated electrostatic harmonic actuator is promising for the miniaturization of electromechanical devices. As the dimensions of the actuator decrease, the effects of the van der Waals force become obvious. In this study, by considering the nonlinearity of electrostatic and van der Waals forces, nonlinear vibration equations of the flexible ring of an electrostatic harmonic actuator are deduced. Using these equations, the nonlinear free vibration and nonlinear forced response of the actuator are investigated. The effects of the van der Waals force on the nonlinear vibration of the flexible ring are analyzed. Results show that these effects of the van der Waals force are relatively obvious under some conditions and should be considered.     

THEORY OF DIELECTRIC ELASTOMERS

In response to a stimulus, a soft material deforms, and the deformation provides a function. We call such a material a soft active material （SAM）. This review focuses on one class of soft active materials： dielectric elastomers. When a membrane of a dielectric elastomer is subject to a voltage through its thickness, the membrane reduces thickness and expands area, possibly straining over 100%. The dielectric elastomers are being developed as transducers for broad applications, including soft robots, adaptive optics, Braille displays, and electric generators. This paper reviews the theory of dielectric elastomers, developed within continuum mechanics and thermodynamics, and motivated by molecular pictures and empirical observations. The theory couples large deformation and electric potential, and describes nonlinear and nonequilibrium behavior, such as electromechanical instability and viscoelasticity. The theory enables the finite element method to simulate transducers of realistic configurations, predicts the efficiency of electromechanical energy conversion, and suggests alternative routes to achieve giant voltage-induced deformation. It is hoped that the theory will aid in the creation of materials and devices.     

Behavior of a PZT ring under non-uniform mechanical stress

Ring-shaped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric vibrators were subjected to non-uniform mechanical stress applied by bolt clamping. The effect of mechanical stress on the effective electromechanical coupling factor (k_eff) and mechanical quality factor (Q_m) of the thickness and wall thickness modes was studied by an equivalent electric circuit analysis. The initiation and propagation of cracks under mechanical stress were also discussed based on the resonance method and the indentation technique. k_eff for both the thickness and wall thickness modes decreased with increase in mechanical stress due to de-poling of the PZT. Q_m of the thickness mode dropped sharply with increase in mechanical stress while Q_m of the wall thickness mode remained almost unchange. Existence of microcracks in a PZT vibrator can be detected by the occurrence of spurious vibrations at the wall thickness mode in the electrical impedance vs. frequency spectra.     

用等效网络方法求均匀弹簧纵振动的本征频率

利用机电类比方法导出了均匀质量弹簧在几种特定边界条件下的本征频率方程,并给出了相应的本征频率公式。体现了等效网络理论分析机械振动问题的优越性。     

约束刻蚀剂层技术对金属铝的微结构加工研究

采用约束刻蚀剂层技术, 以亚硝酸钠为先驱物, 通过电化学氧化产生刻蚀剂(硝酸)刻蚀铝, 并以NaOH为捕捉剂, 在电极模板上形成约束刻蚀剂层. 在金属铝表面加工出梯型槽微结构, 加工分辨率约为500 nm. 通过测量表面氢离子浓度, 对捕捉剂的约束效果进行了分析.     

Electromechanical cracking in ferroelectrics driven by large scale domain switching

Experimental results indicate three regimes for cracking in a ferroelectric double cantilever beam (DCB) under combined electromechanical loading. In the loading, the maximum amplitude of the applied electric field reaches almost twice the coercive field of ferroelectrics. Thus, the model of small scale domain switching is not applicable any more, which is dictated only by the singular term of the crack tip field. In the DCB test, a large or global scale domain switching takes place instead, which is driven...     

The principle of virtual work in mechanical and electromechanical systems

Summary The principle of virtual work is applied to electromechanical systems as the foundation of a unifying concept for modelling mechatronical systems. After the presentation of an important result in the field of mechanics, the expansion of the principle on electrical networks and electromechanical systems is shown. The use of the principle of virtual work in the domain of electromechanics yields an analogous form to the central equation of mechanics which is valid for holonomic and nonholonomic systems. The electrotechnical part of the system is confined to networks. The derivation of the mathematical model is demonstrated on the example of a simple electromechanical oscillation circuit. In addition, the physical systems are separately treated, taking into account the explicit constraints on the basis of the Lagrangian multiplier method.     

A SIMPLIFIED MODEL FOR DOMAIN SWITCHING OF FERROELECTRIC CRYSTAL

I. INTRODUCTION Domain switching is the main source of nonlinear characteristics of ferroelectric materials. The trans-formation performance of domain is the basis for ferroelectric constitutive research. In many literatures[1??10], complete switching models were adopted, in which ferroelectric materials are considered tobe consist of several basic sorts of domains, which are independent of each other. Under the actionof su?ciently strong electric ?elds or mechanical stress, the orienta…     

介电高弹聚合物理论

软材料受刺激会发生变形, 该变形会引起相应的功能, 这种材料称为活性软材料(soft active material, SAM). 本综述主要讨论介电高弹聚合物这一类活性软材料. 当介电高弹聚合物薄膜受到厚度方向的电压作用时, 薄膜厚度减小同时面积增大, 可导致超过100{\%}的应变. 介电高弹聚合物作为转换器被广泛应用, 包括柔性机器人、智能光学器件、盲文显示屏、发电机等. 本文综述了建立在连续介质力学和热力学框架内的、并且基于分子理论描述和经验观测的介电高弹聚合物理论. 该理论耦合了大变形和电势, 描述了非线性和非平衡行为, 如力电失稳和黏弹性. 采用该理论能够通过有限元方法模拟实际构型的转换器, 计算力电能量转换的效率, 给出电致大变形的可行途径. 该理论有助于材料和器件设计.