Flow sensing and energy harvesting characteristics of a wind-driven piezoelectric Pb(Zr0.52, Ti0.48)O₃ microcantilever

Wind flow regarded as a renewable energy source is present everywhere in indoor or open environments. A self-sustained flow-sensing microsystem is especially desirable in future applications of smart home, remote sensing and environmental monitoring. Piezoelectric thin films are commonly adopted in microenergy harvesters for converting the mechanical strain into an electrical charge based on the piezoelectric effect. It is also a promising candidate for flow sensors because of its passive nature, that is, the detectable output charge is a function of flow rate. The aim of this reported work has been to investigate the flow sensing and energy harvesting capabilities of a flexible piezoelectric Pb(Zr0.52, Ti0.48)O₃ (PZT) microcantilever under wind flow. A self-sustained flow-sensing microsystem is possible by integrating the arrays of PZT microcantilevers, which measure the flow rate of ambient wind by one microcantilever and scavenge wind-flow energy as a power source by the rest.