Joint Modeling of Piezoelectric Transducers and Power Conversion Circuits for Energy Harvesting Applications

This paper describes a reliable modeling technique for piezoelectric transducers and a procedure for fast model parameters identification based on inexpensive hardware and standard laboratory equipment. The technique is suitable for evaluating in early design phases the performance of actively controlled power conversion circuits with custom input vibrations. Direct measurements were taken on commercial Q220-A4-303YB cantilevered piezoelectric transducers from Piezo Systems with tip masses between 7 g and 16 g and with two types of synchronized switch energy harvesters. The model describes with a good degree of accuracy both the response of the transducers to vibrations and their behavior with non-linear power conversion circuits, including also the damping effects associated to the use of synchronized switch techniques.