Abstract: One of the biggest problems faced by mankind in the 21st century is satisfying the ever increasing energy demands of the growing population. At the same time, the growing consensus among the populus to turn to renewable sources of energy has forced leaders of nations and companies to begin looking for newer sustainable sources of energy and technology. Piezoelectric energy harvesting tiles represent a promising technology in this aspect for converting mechanical energy from human footsteps and vehicular loads into electrical power contributing to sustainable energy solutions in urban environments where the need for sustainable energy is more [1], [2]. These tiles are now widely being explored as a means of generating energy in places like transport hubs, campuses, shopping malls, pedestrian bridges, and roadways, where mechanical loads are frequent and predictable [11]. This paper comprehensively explores the available structural designs that are currently being used in the sector. We systematically categorize tile architectures into five primary structural configurations: Single-layer direct compression designs, Multilayer stack architectures, Cymbal transducer amplification structures, Cantilever-beam-based bending systems Hybrid architectures. For each design discussed their performance characteristics, advantages, and limitations are also discussed in detail. Finally advantages and limitations of this technology is discussed and scope for further research is also explored. The paper concludes that while different structural designs target different types of environments hybrid structural designs promises optimal energy conversion efficiency and offer greater possibilities for the future.

Keywords: piezoelectric tiles, energy harvesting, structural design, cymbal transducer, multilayer stack, hybrid tiles

Pages: 29-37

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