Airflow Energy Harvester Based on Diamagnetic Levitation Structure With Double Stabilizing Magnets

Abstract

In this paper, an airflow energy harvester based on a push-pull diamagnetic levitation structure with double stabilizing magnets is proposed to explore its energy harvesting efficiency and environmental adaptability. The static and dynamic mechanical characteristics of the floating magnet are studied. Then, three structure parameters resulting in the change of energy conversion factor (ECF) are analyzed using COMSOL software. A platform was constructed to carry out experiments, and the results are as follows. Firstly, when the air flowrate from left nozzle ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NL</i> ) and the air flowrate from right nozzle ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NR</i> ) are both 3000 sccm, the average peak voltage (APV) is 1.924 V, the average power (AP) is 97.93 mW and the energy conversion ratio (ECR) is 41.12%. Secondly, when <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NL</i> is 3000 sccm and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NR</i> is 2000 sccm, the APV is 1.245 V, the AP is 41.01 mW and the ECR is 26.57%. Thirdly, when <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NL</i> is 3000 sccm and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q_NR</i> is 0 sccm, the APV is 0.666 V, the AP is 11.68 mW and the ECR is 9.82%. The experiment results show that it is feasible and performs well in a real-life situation, which is a major step toward the application as an energy harvester.