Piezoelectric energy harvesting from torsional vibration in internal combustion engines

This paper presents a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), which harvests electric power energy from torsional vibration induced by internal combustion (IC) engines. The PEH can generate electric power for a wireless sensor node system by simply attaching a compact cantilever beam structure to the surface of the rotating shaft. A prototype PEH is manufactured by using a commercial piezoelectric wafer and mounted on a torque converter (i.e., engine output). The primary harvesting performance of the PEH prototype is experimentally validated through laboratory tests using a low-inertia dynamometer. The frequency response function of the PEH is investigated to evaluate its harvesting capability. Finally, its potential application to a wireless shaft torque transducer is discussed.