Mechanical intelligent wave energy harvesting and self-powered marine environment monitoring

Abstract

Harvesting wave energy to power wireless sensors can realize marine environment monitoring. However, the low frequency and irregularity of waves, as well as the harsh marine environment, have become bottlenecks limiting the development of wave energy harvesting. Herein, we propose a novel concept of mechanical intelligent energy harvesting, i.e., adaptive external excitation and regulation of energy harvesting system by mechanical structure or mechanism rather than electrical components, and illustrate this concept by designing an irregular wave energy harvesting system. The proposed gravity-driven roller and seesaw-inspired structure are sensitive to low-frequency and irregular excitation, thereby wave energy can be more easily harvested into the system. Further, the bidirectional swinging of the seesaw is converted into a high-speed unidirectional rotation of the permanent magnet disc in one direction, resulting in a significant increase in the efficiency of electromechanical conversion. Moreover, symmetrical discs on both sides can rotate synchronously via magnetic coupling mechanism, which increases the magnetic flux in the coils for higher output power and the consistent phase of the voltage is conducive to the use of electricity. Besides, the rolling behavior is used by the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to convert more mechanical energy into electricity without affecting the electromagnetic energy harvester. The experimental results show that the harvester can work effectively at the ultra-low frequency (0.1 Hz) and it can charge a 0.47 F capacitor to 5 V within 6 min to achieve a self-powered wireless marine environment monitoring system under simulated wave excitation. This work demonstrates that mechanical intelligent energy harvesting is a potential solution for irregular energy harvesting and self-powered Internet of Things (IoT).