Energy Harvesting From Bicycle Vibrations

The possibility of exploiting electrical energy scavenged from bicycle mechanical vibrations by piezoelectric harvesters is investigated. The bicycle vibrations on a typical city track are characterized through road tests and the power spectral densities (PSDs) of measured vibrations are presented. Both analytical and experimental methods are adopted to estimate the average electric power that can be harvested by a standard piezoelectric harvester with tip mass mounted on the bicycle. The possibility of tuning the harvester by means of liquid tip masses, resulting in a better trade-off between generated power and stress inside the piezoelectric layer, is investigated as well.