Are Side-by-Side Piezoelectric Harvesters a Feasible Power Source in Low-Intensity Grid Turbulence?*

Resonant fluidic harvesters can typically be tuned to the frequency of the flow, so they yield a larger power output compared to their non-resonant counterparts. In order to explore increasing this output for non-resonance harvesters, a feasibility study has been performed to analyze the behavior of two side-by-side piezoelectric harvesters in low-intensity (less than 1%) grid-generated turbulence with respect to beam configurations, mean flow velocity, distance from the grid and separation between the  two beams. Experimental results show that the potential for energy harvesting is perhaps not as great in the low mean-velocity flow as it is for the higher speed cases which are accompanied by flutter, but the side-by-side piezoelectric beams display potential for use as turbulence sensors at low speeds.