Enhanced galloping energy harvester with cooperative mode of vibration and collision

Abstract

The low power and narrow speed range remain bottlenecks that constrain the application of small-scale wind energy harvesting. This paper proposes a simple, low-cost, and reliable method to address these critical issues. A galloping energy harvester with the cooperative mode of vibration and collision (GEH-VC) is presented. A pair of curved boundaries attached with functional materials are introduced, which not only improve the performance of the vibration energy harvesting system, but also convert more mechanical energy into electrical energy during collision. The beam deforms and the piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) generates electricity during the flow-induced vibration. In addition, the beam contacts and separates from the boundaries, and the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) generates electricity during the collision. In order to reduce the influence of the boundaries on the aerodynamic performance and the feasibility of increasing the working area of the TENG, a vertical structure is designed. When the wind speed is high, the curved boundaries maintain a stable amplitude of the vibration system and increase the frequency of the vibration system, thereby avoiding damage to the piezoelectric sheet and improving the electromechanical conversion efficiency, and the TENG works with the PEH to generate electricity. Since the boundaries can protect the PEH at high wind speeds, its stiffness can be designed to be low to start working at low wind speeds. The electromechanical coupling dynamic model is established according to the GEH-VC operating principle and is verified experimentally. The results show that the GEH-VC has a wide range of operating wind speeds, and the average power can be increased by 180% compared with the traditional galloping PEH. The GEH-VC prototype is demonstrated to power a commercial temperature sensor. This study provides a novel perspective on the design of hybrid electromechanical conversion mechanisms, that is, to combine and collaborate based on their respective characteristics.