The Effect of the Configuration of the Amplification Device on the Power Output of a Piezoelectric Strip

We investigated the behaviour of a polyvinylidene-fluoride piezoelectric strip (‘stalk’) clamped at the leading edge, and hinged to an amplification device (‘leaf’) at the trailing edge. Flutter of this cantilevered system was induced within smooth, parallel flow, and an AC voltage was generated from the PVDF strip. A polypropylene, triangle comprised the leaf. Two leaf parameters were varied so as to quantify their effect on the power output of the system: 1) the area, and 2) the aspect ratio. It was found that the highest power output was realised with the 2nd-largest leaf across a range of wind speeds, but the variation in power measurements was large. Thus, the 3rd-largest leaf was found to give the highest power output with the lowest power variation. This leaf area was then fixed and the aspect ratio varied. It was found that the largest aspect ratio-leaf rendered the highest power output, but had a relatively high start-up wind speed.