Electromechanical Coupling Coefficient: New Approach to Study Auxetic Piezoelectric Harvesters

Abstract: This work introduces a novel methodology to assess the performance of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters (PEHs) in order to study auxetic enhancement possibilities. For this purpose, a new approach for evaluating the intrinsic effective Electromechanical Coupling Coefficient (EMCC) of piezoelectric layers is presented. As the current assessment methods are questioned under resonance exposures, theoretical models are presented to suggest what characteristics the harvested power will depend on. A two axis graph is introduced to enable the comparison of different PEHs. The method is finally applied to PEHs with different types of substrates: filled, hollow and auxetic. First results show that, generally, auxetic structures might not increase the intrinsic EMCC but only improve the elastic energy ratio in the piezoelectric layers.