Variable impact analysis of linear generator by using response surface method

Abstract

Energy harvesting is the process which gathers and converts external energies such as light, vibration, movements of people and heat which are disposed into reusable electrical energy and uses such electrical energy. Harvesting using vibration energy is a technology which converts mechanical vibrations into electrical energy, and the methods using electrostatic, electromagnetic and piezoelectric effects are available. The method using electrostatic is advantageous for miniaturization but its energy conversion efficiency is low, and harvesting using piezoelectric uses piezoelectric ceramic so that stress cracking occurs easily so that the performance cannot be maintained. However, the harvesting system using electromagnetic has advantages that its production cost is relatively low in comparison to the methods using electrostatic and piezoelectric and electric power generated through harvesting has a high efficiency. In this study, the analysis of effect on the generation quantity according to a change in design variables of linear electromagnetic generator which could harvest vibration energy effectively. The number and shape of permanent magnets and number of coil turns were set as design variables, and the generation quantity analysis was carried out using MAXWELL, a commercial electromagnetic finite-element analysis program, and the effect of variables on the generation quantity was analyzed statistically through the response surface analysis method.