Coupled magneto-electro-mechanical lumped parameter model for a novel vibration-based magneto-electro-elastic energy harvesting systems

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to present a coupled magneto-electro-mechanical (MEM) lumped parameter model for the response of the proposed magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) energy harvesting systems under base excitation. The proposed model can be used to create self-powering systems, which are not limited to a finite battery energy. As a novel approach, the MEE composites are used instead of the conventional piezoelectric materials in order to enhance the harvested electrical power. The considered structure consists of a MEE layer deposited on a layer of non-MEE material, in the framework of unimorph cantilever bars (longitudinal displacement) and beams (transverse displacement). To use the generated electrical potential, two electrodes are connected to the top and bottom surfaces of the MEE layer. Additionally, a stationary external coil is wrapped around the vibrating structure to induce a voltage in the coil by the magnetic field generated in the MEE layer. In order to simplify the design procedure of the proposed energy harvester and obtain closed form solutions, a lumped parameter model is prepared. As a first step in modeling process, the governing constitutive equations, Gauss's and Faraday's laws, are used to derive the coupled MEM differential equations. The derived equations are then solved analytically to obtain the dynamic behavior and the harvested voltages and powers of the proposed energy harvesting systems. Finally, the influences of the parameters that affect the performance of the MEE energy harvesters such as excitation frequency, external resistive loads and number of coil turns are discussed in detail. The results clearly show the benefit of the coil circuit implementation, whereby significant increases in the total useful harvested power as much as 38% and 36% are obtained for the beam and bar systems, respectively.