Complementary Piezo Energy Harvesting for Small Satellites in Eclipse

The objective of this project is to design and develop an innovative new piezo energy harvesting system (PHS) for a CubeSat at low earth orbit (LEO). The system will be capable of harvesting energy collected from vibrations occurring in multifunctional smart structures that are triggered by a device we call a perturbator. The perturbator is an actuator that is able to store thermal energy during the sun-lit orbital phase and release the energy as an impulse force to initiate vibration. The PEH system then converts the vibration energy to electric power using advanced piezoelectric materials during the orbital eclipse phase. The system will continuously store thermal energy during the sun-lit phase, and provide electrical power in orbital eclipse. The power will be used to supplement existing photovoltaic elements by recharging an on-board battery at a rate equal to its self-discharge rate, thus enabling the battery to remain at its fully charged level. Phase I of the project will develop the details of the system design concept and verify its feasibility.