Innovative Cyber-Physical/Electronic AI-Assisted Digital Twin Model of Small Energy Harvesting Cantilever Power Generators

The paper deals with the design of a Digital Twin model of an energy harvesting cantilever beam for low frequency energy harvesting applications and specifically with a digital model matching simulations corresponding with Finite Element Method solutions in order to validate the model. The physical behavior is based on the main parameters to be investigated. The finite elements analysis is geometrically and parametrically carried out for a small PZT5A device of the orders of millimeters and is optimized to take into consideration the relationships between tip displacement, generated voltages and vibration gravitational forces for standard industrial applications in the acceleration range between 0.5 and 2 g. Then a procedure to integrate the Digital Twin into a design framework has been developed, including an artificial intelligence algorithm that supports the modelling of the real behavior of the device. The paper is devoted to help researchers involved in a Digital Twin adoption in the field of electronic design and of the physical characterization of low frequency energy harvesting devices exclusively using open-source tools.