Modelling and Simulation of Fluid–Structure Interaction for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting in Simplified HALE UAV Wings

Piezoelectric utilization along with fluid–structure interaction phenomena has been attracting researchers due to its physical complexity and potential uses. Piezoelectric technology is suitable for UAV applications due to its size and capabilities. In UAVs, piezoelectric can be used for energy harvester as well as passive and active vibration control. In this paper, HALE UAV developed by ITB will be used to study piezoelectric utilization along with fluid–structure interaction phenomena, mainly its energy harvesting capabilities. During the design process, HALE UAV ITB has experienced many contradictions. One of which is high aspect ratio wing with lightweight structure. This design causes the wing structure to be highly susceptible to aeroelastic phenomenon, such as flutter. This paper focuses on modelling the energy harvesting subsystem and exploring its potential for further development. The energy harvester is modeled as unimorph beam that represents a simplified two-dimensional wing with the piezoelectric transducer. This dynamic structure subsystem is then coupled with the unsteady Navier–Stokes formulation for fluid flow, allowing the calculation of transient vibration of the unimorph beam due to the generated vortex. The coupled-multiphysics simulation is evaluated using unified finite-element method to capture the dynamic structure and fluid flow behavior. The result of this analysis illustrates that energy harvesting from transient vibration may provide adequate energy to support onboard sensor and electrical system during UAV operation.