Performance of a circular cylinder piezoelectric wind energy harvester fitted with a splitter plate

This study examines effects of the splitter plate placed in the near wake of a circular cylinder on the performance of a piezoelectric wind energy harvester through wind tunnel experiments. The kinetic energy of the harvester is gained by wind-induced vibrations of the circular cylinder. The splitte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2017-11, Vol.111 (22)
Main Authors: Song, Jie, Hu, Gang, Tse, K. T., Li, S. W., Kwok, K. C. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Circular cylinders
Energy harvesting
Kinetic energy
Optimization
Piezoelectricity
Pressure measurement
Reynolds number
Splitter plates
Upper bounds
Vortex-induced vibrations
Wind effects
Wind power
Wind speed
Wind tunnel testing
Wind tunnels
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Summary:This study examines effects of the splitter plate placed in the near wake of a circular cylinder on the performance of a piezoelectric wind energy harvester through wind tunnel experiments. The kinetic energy of the harvester is gained by wind-induced vibrations of the circular cylinder. The splitter plate is attached to the leeward side of the cylinder. The ratio of the splitter plate length to the diameter of the circular cylinder (Lsp/D) ranges from 0.25 to 2.00. After attaching the splitter plate with an appropriate length, the harvester is able to sustain large amplitude vibrations beyond the wind speed range corresponding to vortex-induced vibrations. Thus, the upper bound of the wind speed range for the harvester to harness wind energy is eliminated, which significantly increases the efficiency of the harvester. Compared to the different lengths of the splitter plate, 0.65D has been found to be the optimal length for maximizing the harvested power.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.5008918