Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting in Quadcopter UAVs
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles play a crucial role across multiple sectors, particularly in tasks like surveillance and reconnaissance . As the demand for longer flight times and increased autonomy continues to grow, one of the primary challenges is ensuring a reliable and sufficient power supply for the onboard systems.
Conventional battery power sources often present limitations regarding weight, capacity, and operational duration. Considering these challenges, there is a significant push towards exploring alternative energy harvesting methods that are both sustainable and efficient, aiming to either complement or replace traditional battery solutions .
Among the various techniques for energy harvesting, piezoelectric energy harvesting is particularly noteworthy due to its capability to transform mechanical vibrations into electrical energy. During flight, the UAV’s wings constantly experience dynamic motion, which generates vibrations that can be effectively harnessed using piezoelectric materials. The vibrations that arise from aerodynamic forces are an untapped resource of energy, presenting an opportunity to power onboard systems, decrease dependency on conventional batteries, and improve the overall operational efficiency of UAVs.
This study delves into the mechanics of UAV wing vibrations and investigates the potential of employing piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting. It focuses on assessing the practicality and efficiency of integrating piezoelectric energy harvesting systems into UAV designs by evaluating the various contributions across the wing structure. The study encompasses a theoretical examination of energy conversion via piezoelectric mechanisms, identifies the key factors that influence energy generation, and seeks optimizations for harvesting devices to adapt them effectively for UAV applications.
The forthcoming sections of the study will elucidate the fundamental principles behind piezoelectric energy harvesting, analyze the dynamic characteristics of UAV wings, and assess the prospects for energy generation. This comprehensive approach aims to provide insights into how piezoelectric harvesters can be integrated into sustainable power systems for UAVs. The findings of the research are intended to contribute significantly toward the advancement of more efficient and sustainable UAV technologies.
In this study, a functional drone-based pumping prototype was developed Quadcopter (DJI Mini 3 Pro) for the purpose of conducting an investigation on it at a later stage....
The full article can be found here.
Source: Scientific Research
