Barium Titanate Film Interfaces for Hybrid Composite Energy Harvesters

Energy harvesting utilizing piezoelectric materials has become an attractive approach for converting mechanical energy into electrical power for low-power electronics. Structural composites are ideally suited for energy scavenging due to the large amount of mechanical energy they are subjected to. Here, a multifunctional composite with embedded sensing and energy harvesting is developed by integrating an active interface into carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. By modifying the composite matrix, both rigid and flexible multifunctional composites are fabricated. Through electromechanical testing of a cantilever beam of the rigid composite, it reveals a power density of 217 pW/cc from only 1 g root-mean-square acceleration when excited at its resonant frequency of 47 Hz. Electromechanical sensor testing of the flexible multifunctional composite reveals an average voltage generation of 23.5 mV/g at its resonant frequency of 96 Hz. This research introduces a route for integrating nonstructural functionality into structural fiber composites by utilizing BaTiO₃ coated woven carbon fiber fabrics with power scavenging and passive sensing capabilities.