Energy harvesting from electric power lines employing the Halbach arrays

Abstract

This paper proposes non-invasive energy harvesters to scavenge alternating magnetic field energy from electric power lines. The core body of a non-invasive energy harvester is a linear Halbach array, which is mounted on the free end of a piezoelectric cantilever beam. The Halbach array augments the magnetic flux density on the side of the array where the power line is placed and significantly lowers the magnetic field on the other side. Consequently, the magnetic coupling strength is enhanced and more alternating magnetic field energy from the current-carrying power line is converted into electrical energy. An analytical model is developed and the theoretical results verify the experimental results. A power of 566 μW across a 196 kΩ resistor is generated from a single wire, and a power of 897 μW across a 212 kΩ resistor is produced from a two-wire power cord carrying opposite currents at 10 A. The harvesters employing Halbach arrays for a single wire and a two-wire power cord, respectively, exhibit 3.9 and 3.2 times higher power densities than those of the harvesters employing conventional layouts of magnets. The proposed devices with strong response to the alternating currents are promising to be applied to electricity end-use environment in electric power systems.