Dielectric Electroactive Polymer energy harvesting system forward path design for different vibration input patterns

Energy harvesting is a new emerging technology which is used to gathering ambient energy from surroundings. In this paper, we propose a new application idea that to harvest ambient vibration energy and store it into a Li-ion rechargeable battery by using Dielectric Electroactive Polymer (DEAP) generator. For proposed energy harvesting prototyping system, according to two different vibration input patterns in terms of mechanical vibration frequency and displacement, two topologies of system forward paths which include DEAP generator, voltage regulation circuit and DC-DC buck converter are designed. For the low frequency high displacement vibration input pattern, we develop a low frequency forward path by using Zener diode regulator. For the high frequency low displacement input pattern, we develop a high frequency forward path by using Butterworth low pass filter. Finally, PSPICE simulation results prove that both of the proposed circuits work properly to generate steady 4.2v DC voltage for energy harvesting.