A unified Mori-Tanaka/finite element approach for investigating piezoelectric ellipsoidal particle-reinforced composite energy harvesters with various configurations

Abstract

This study investigates the vibration-based energy harvesting performance of four widely used beam configurations: unimorph, bimorph, trimorph, and sandwich beams, all subjected to identical boundary conditions. Each beam model consists of the aluminum substrate integrated with the piezocomposite layer consisting of piezoelectric ellipsoidal particles embedded within a PVDF matrix. The effective electromechanical properties of the piezocomposite are estimated using the Mori–Tanaka micromechanical scheme. For this purpose, the Mikata approach is employed to compute the Eshelby tensor enabling the micromechanical model to accommodate various matrix types, including general orthotropic materials. Furthermore, this micromechanics-based method allows for considering piezoelectric fillers of diverse geometries. Next, the vibrational energy harvesting of four cantilever-type beams is evaluated using the finite element simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics. To verify the validity of the present modeling technique, comparison studies with the available literature are performed. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the influence of volume fraction and aspect ratio of piezoelectric fillers, configuration and detailed geometries of harvesters on the resonant frequency, output voltage, and electrical power generation under base excitation. It is observed that increasing the piezoelectric filler percentage in unimorph and bimorph beams leads to an improvement in their harvesting performance. Also, higher aspect ratios of piezoelectric fillers enhance the output voltage of harvesting systems. © 2025 Elsevier Masson SAS