A Drifter-Based Self-Powered Piezoelectric Sensor for Ocean Wave Measurements

Recently, piezoelectric materials have received remarkable attention in marine applications for energy harvesting from the ocean, which is a harsh environment with powerful and impactful waves and currents. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, although there are various designs of piezoelectric energy harvesters for marine applications, piezoelectric materials have not been employed for sensory and measurement applications in marine environment. In the present research, a drifter-based piezoelectric sensor is proposed to measure ocean waves’ height and period. To analyze the motion principle and the working performance of the proposed drifter-based piezoelectric sensor, a dynamic model was developed. The developed dynamic model investigated the system’s response to an input of ocean waves and provides design insights into the geometrical and material parameters. Next, finite element analysis (FEA) simulations using the commercial software COMSOL-Multiphysics were carried out with the help of a coupled physics analysis of Solid Mechanics and Electrostatics Modules to achieve the output voltages. An experimental prototype was fabricated and tested to validate the results of the dynamic model and the FEA simulation. A slider-crank mechanism was used to mimic ocean waves throughout the experiment, and the results showed a close match between the proposed dynamic modeling, FEA simulations, and experimental testing. In the end, a short discussion is devoted to interpreting the output results, comparing the results of the simulations with those of the experimental testing, sensor’s resolution, and the self-powering functionality of the proposed drifter-based piezoelectric sensor.