Numerical Simulation Of Energy Harvesting From A Flexible Plate Behind A Cylinder Using Flow-Induced Vibrations

Energy harvesting is the process of converting different kinds of energy, such as solar, thermal, kinetic energy of fluid, etc., to a usable form of energy. Different kinds of transduction mechanisms are used for energy harvesting. The piezoelectric mechanism has received considerable interest because of its advantages, such as ease of application and working over a wide range of frequencies. Simulation and investigation of energy harvesting from a piezoelectric plate, which is mounted on an elastic beam and located behind a cylinder through flow-induced vibrations, is the subject of the present research. First, the results of the lift and drag coefficients in the fluid flow around a stationary cylinder at Reynolds 200 are compared and validated with the previous studies. After that, by placing an elastic beam and a piezoelectric behind the cylinder, flow around the cylinder, and the fluid-solids interactions are investigated. Due to the vortex shedding phenomenon, which happens in the fluid flow past the cylinder, the elastic piezoelectric beam deforms periodically, and thus, the mechanical energy of the flow is converted into electrical energy. In this problem, the beam effect on both the drag/lift reduction and the amount of voltage extracted from the piezoelectric layer were investigated, and the optimal mode obtained was selected based on the extraction of more energy. In this regard, the process of finding the most optimal energy harvesting mode for the location of the elastic beam, the length of the beam, and the fixed point of the elastic beam in different geometries are carried out. The results of the optimal investigations are as the length of the elastic beam of 2D, the distance of the beam from the back of the cylinder 2.5D, and the state in which the beam is fixed from the right side, where D is the diameter of the cylinder.