Generating characteristics of an eye-shaped piezoelectric generator

We present the results of a study of a piezoelectric generator that generates electricity by the application of tension to an element. The device is named an "eye-shaped generator". The eye-shaped generator consists of a rectangular ceramic and two elastic body plates that are attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the ceramic. If tension is applied to both ends of the elastic body, that tension is transformed to pressure on the ceramic through a change in the form of the elastic body, causing a piezoelectric effect whereby electricity is generated by the ceramic. The structure of this eye-shaped generator is such that it can be easily applied to cases that already incorporate tension. This generator is relatively durable because the forces are not applied directly to the ceramic. We examined the dependencies of the generator's output characteristics on the size of the ceramic and the material of the elastic body. The resonance and the output characteristics were analyzed by using the finite element method. A generator was fabricated based on the results of the analysis, and this was attached to a frequency-controllable vibrator to measure the output characteristics. The measured results were compared with the results of the simulation, and the results pointed to the practicality of the design. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.