Binary-Like Topology Optimization of Piezoelectric Metamaterial Plate with Interface Circuits Using Extended Plane Wave Expansion Method

Piezoelectric metamaterial plate (PMP) is being investigated for structural vibration energy harvesting (SVEH), in which an interface circuit is often used. Thus, it is a challenge to perform bandgap optimization of such an elastic–electro–mechanical coupling system. This paper presents a binary-like topology optimization scheme by dividing the unit cell into identical pieces, where a {0, 1} matrix is optimized to indicate material distribution. Firstly, a unified motion equation is derived for the elastic plate and the piezoelectric patch, and an electromechanical coupling model is built for a self-powered synchronized charge extraction circuit. Then, an extended plane wave expansion method is presented to model the bandgap character of the PMP with interface circuits (PMPICs), and the numerical solution of the dispersion curves is derived based on the Bloch theorem. Next, an extended genetic algorithm is applied for the topology optimization of the PMPIC. In the end, numerical and finite element simulations are performed to validate the proposed method. The results demonstrate that both the structure and the circuit can be optimized simultaneously to obtain the maximum first-order bandgap at a given central frequency. Therefore, the proposed method should provide an effective solution for the topology optimization of a PMPIC for broadband SVEH.