Development of Bi-Stable Vibration Energy Harvesting System Using Duffing-Type Motion Model

Abstract

Vibration power generation is an important issue in development of renewable energy. If a vibration system with a maximum possible amplitude is designed, it can be advantageous in improving the vibration power generation efficiency. In this study, we propose a Duffing-type bi-stable vibration energy harvesting system that utilizes the stochastic resonance phenomenon, which can significantly expand the vibration amplitude. We designed the motion rail shape of the bistable vibration model using the Duffing function, and created a Duffing-type wave-shaped motion rail using an acrylic plate. An electromagnetic motor was installed in place of the four rotating wheels below the mass block that moves on the wave-shaped motion rail. When the mass block moves on the rail, it can output a voltage directly from the electromagnetic motor. To verify the performance of the proposed bi-stable vibration energy-harvesting system, a vibration experiment was conducted by combining a random excitation signal that simulates an actual natural environment and intentional periodic excitation signal. Using the experimental results, the stochastic resonance phenomenon and vibration power generation performance of the bi-stable vibration energy-harvesting system were investigated. The stochastic resonance phenomenon can be reliably generated using the bi-stable vibration system proposed in this study, and a large amplitude expansion effect can be obtained in the response vibration of the mass block. In addition, using random signals simulating the natural environment and periodic signals as stimulus signals, vibration experiments were conducted separately for two measurement cases: single excitation and joint excitation. The measurement results showed that under the same input excitation energy, the simultaneous excitation of the two signals generated 82.99% more power than that generated by separate excitation of the two signals. The generation of the stochastic resonance phenomenon by exciting two signals simultaneously has a significant effect on the improvement of the power generation efficiency of the bi-stable vibration energy harvesting system.