Shape optimization of a unimorph piezoelectric energy harvesting beam

With the growth of technology and population, the human need for energy is constantly increasing. Renewable energy sources are the best option to supply this. In this regard, the use of piezoelectric materials to convert environmental vibrations into electrical energy as an energy source for electrically powered electronic components is one of the available options. In the present paper, the shape of a unimorph piezoelectric actuator has been optimized. It is assumed that this beam is triggered by a harmonic base. In this paper, the energy harvesting system, along with its electrical circuit, is simulated in Comsol software. In this software, frequency responses of the voltage, current, and electrical power of the system are obtained and power sensitivity analysis has been performed in regard to the shape parameters of the beam. The goal of this paper is to obtain a more optimal state for the beam shape in order to gain more power. This is usually done through optimization methods. In this research, the adopted optimization techniques are all zero-order, which use only the value of the objective function.