Abstract
This paper presents a novel tunable multi-frequency hybrid energy harvester (HEH). It consists of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) and an electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH), which are coupled with magnetic interaction. An electromechanical coupling model was developed and numerically simulated. The effects of magnetic force, mass ratio, stiffness ratio, and mechanical damping ratios on the output power were investigated. A prototype was fabricated and characterized by experiments. The measured first peak power increases by 16.7% and 833.3% compared with that of the multi-frequency EMEH and the multi-frequency PEH, respectively. It is 2.36 times more than the combined output power of the linear PEH and linear EMEH at 22.6 Hz. The half-power bandwidth for the first peak power is also broadened. Numerical results agree well with the experimental data. It is indicated that magnetic interaction can tune the resonant frequencies. Both magnetic coupling configuration and hybrid conversion mechanism contribute to enhancing the output power and widening the operation bandwidth. The magnitude and direction of magnetic force have significant effects on the performance of the HEH. This proposed HEH is an effective approach to improve the generating performance of the micro-scale energy harvesting devices in low-frequency range.
Highlights
Vibration energy harvesting is considered as a promising alternative approach to power wireless sensors nets and ultra low power microelectronics devices [1,2]
To harvest energy from vibration sources with discrete frequency peaks over a wide range, Chew and Li [26] reported a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) composed by a series of piezoelectric beams, which are connected end-to-end
We report a novel tunable multi-frequency hybrid energy harvester (HEH), using piezoelectric and electromagnetic conversion mechanisms
Summary
Vibration energy harvesting is considered as a promising alternative approach to power wireless sensors nets and ultra low power microelectronics devices [1,2]. The micro electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH) [9] exhibits lower power density due to the decreased flux density and smaller velocity of the magnet Another concerning question is how to improve the performance of VEHs in the low frequency range. To harvest energy from vibration sources with discrete frequency peaks over a wide range, Chew and Li [26] reported a PEH composed by a series of piezoelectric beams, which are connected end-to-end. Compared with the single energy harvesting mechanism, the proposed HEH generates more electric power and broadens the operation frequency bandwidth in the low-frequency range. The magnetic interaction can be used to alter the resonant frequencies of HEH
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