Low-Power Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Circuit to Power Wind Turbine Sensors

Abstract

Monitoring the operation of wind turbines is critical to ensure a system's reliability and performance. Sensors for acceleration, vibration, temperature, and pressure, can be used to collect data and optimize the performance of a wind turbine. To operate these sensors, a power supply is required. However, using external sources are challenging due to their limited lifetime and the difficulty of maintenance. Energy harvesting offers a possible solution to this issue. By attaching a piezoelectric transducer to the blades of the wind turbine, energy can be harvested from vibrations during operation and used to supply power to a wireless sensor that captures data in real time. This paper focuses on the design of a power management circuit for energy harvesting from piezoelectric sources under low power conditions. The harvested energy is used to power a wireless vibration sensor, eliminating the need for external power sources or batteries. A major challenge in these circuits is the cold start-up issue, where the limited initial energy fails to activate the circuit. The proposed power management circuit includes a full bridge rectifier, an impedance matched buck boost converter, an oscillator, a voltage regulator, and a cold start-up assistance circuit for automated start-up. This work provides a solution for start-up issues with vibration energy harvesting in monitoring status of wind turbine blades.