Magnetic transfer piezoelectric wind energy harvester with dual vibration mode conversion

Abstract

Wind-induced vibration piezoelectric energy harvesters have garnered significant interest in recent years as a means to power autonomous wireless sensor systems. A magnetic transfer piezoelectric wind energy harvester (MT-PWEH) is proposed and its durability, power generation performance and environmental adaptability are improved utilizing dual mode conversion. This MT-PWEH incorporated a downstream rectangular baffle, which facilitated the transition of the hollow cylinder from a traditional single vortex-induced vibration to a coupled vibration involving both vortex-induced vibration and galloping (i.e., the first vibration mode conversion). Besides, the vibration direction of the hollow cylinder was perpendicular to the vibration direction of the transducer, which achieved the purpose of limiting the amplitude (i.e., the second vibration mode conversion). The feasibility of MT-PWEH was confirmed through theoretical analysis, CFD simulation, fabrication and experiments. The experimental results demonstrated that the working characteristics of MT-PWEH were significantly affected by position and size of the baffle. Specifically, the ratio of the maximum cut-in wind speed of 12.5 m/s to the minimum cut-in wind speed of 1.2 m/s reached 10.4. Additionally, a maximum power output of 0.78 mW was recorded at 10 m/s with an optimal load resistance of 800 kΩ and 10 LEDs were drove successfully.