Dynamic analysis of a buckled asymmetric piezoelectric beam for energy harvesting

A model of a buckled beam energy harvester is analyzed to determine the phenomena behind the transition between high and low power output levels. It is shown that the presence of a chaotic attractor is a sufficient condition to predict high power output, though there are relatively small areas where high output is achieved without a chaotic attractor. The chaotic attractor appears as a product of a period doubling cascade or a boundary crisis. Bifurcation diagrams provide insight into the development of the chaotic region as the input power level is varied, as well as the intermixed periodic windows.