Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3273
Date of Award
6-2026
Degree Name
MS in Electrical Engineering
Department/Program
Electrical Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Taufik
Advisor Department
Electrical Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
This thesis presents the development of an ocean‑wave energy harvester that converts pendulum‑induced impacts on piezoelectric bimorphs into stored electrical energy, offering a potential power source for low‑energy offshore devices. The harvested energy came from two arrays of twelve piezoelectric bimorphs and was stored into a single-cell lithium-ion battery. The system consisted of three main components: a voltage rectifier to convert the AC voltage output across the piezoelectric electrodes to DC, a voltage converter set to match the voltage of the lithium-ion battery, and a battery charge controller to facilitate safe charging of the lithium-ion battery. Due to the high cost of acquiring multiple piezoelectric bimorphs, an auxiliary module was developed to emulate the electrical response of the piezoelectric material using Howland current pumps and precision capacitors. Simulation results showed that the harvester circuit could extract an average power of 102.06 mW, demonstrating its capability to capture energy from an impact driven piezoelectric source. Benchtop experiments produced comparable performance, yielding 111.34 mW from the emulated piezoelectric modules. Together, these results confirm the circuit’s ability to rectify the emulated piezoelectric output, generate the required voltage rails, and deliver charging current to the lithium ion battery.