Finite element analysis of taper ionic polymer metal composites energy harvester

This paper report our recent effort on tapered in thickness IPMC in connection with the application in energy harvesting. The ability of ionic polymer metal composites to generate electrical output under mechanical deformation exploited for the development of energy harvester. In this research, new geometry (other than the conventional one) of IPMC for energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations is proposed. Uniform as well as taper in thickness IPMC cantilever beams are modelled in COMSOL for capturing the voltage and power generated by the energy harvesters. Finite element results shows that voltage across the load for taper beam is slightly greater than the uniform beam by considering same boundary, geometry and material properties. (paper)