| Piezoelectric pulse generator is an electromechanical conversion device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The generator basically consists of the stacks of the piezoelectric material between compression steels, a spark gap, and an inductive antenna. In this investigation, the theory and model of the piezoelectric pulse generator are presented. The design and experimental setup are also discussed. Two types of piezoelectric pulse generator are presented (i.e., piezoelectric pulse generator projectile and piezoelectric pulse generator for dropping mass). In addition, the design of diagnostic systems which are used to measure the output current of the generator is given. Experimentally, the piezoelectric pulse generator generates peak powers that range between 7.39 to 320.00 kW.; The investigation also presents the optimization theory of the piezoelectric pulse generator, which gives the criteria of how to maximize output power of the generator. The maximum peak power of the generator is shown to be an increasing function of the thickness to area ratio (i.e., TAR) and the applied compression force. With the consideration of mechanical limitation of the piezoelectric material, such as maximum stress, Tmax, and maximum compression force, Fmax, the maximum peak power point is found as the point where maximum power with a given compression force intersects the maximum power with the limitation of material stress. This investigation also shows that maximum peak power scales with increasing piezoelectric material's volume. The volume of piezoelectric material can be increased by increasing the surface area or the thickness of the material. The experimental data are used to verify the theory. The results show a good agreement. |
