Vibration-based Energy Harvesting Research Articles

Study of vibration suppression and energy harvesting for a Vibration-based Piezoelectric–Electromagnetic energy harvester with nonlinear energy sink

Vibration-based energy harvesting devices are prone to excessive displacement response. The effective vibration suppression is critical to the longevity and safety of energy harvesting systems. In this work, the vibration-based Piezoelectric–Electromagnetic energy harvester with nonlinear energy sink (NES-VBPEEH) is proposed to achieve the dual efficacy goals of vibration suppression and vibration energy harvesting. The electromechanical-coupled distributed governing equations are derived through Hamilton’s principle, Euler’s Bernoulli theory, Gauss’s law and Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. The output performances of the degradation model of the NES-VBPEEH are validated by previous work. Parameter analysis indicates that the external resistance of the piezoelectric energy harvester significantly affects the electrical damping of the system and ultimately affects the output response of the NES-VBPEEH. The external resistance and coil turns of the electromagnetic vibration energy harvester can significantly affect the output response of the NES-VBPEEH. The output power of both types of energy harvesters is maximized with respect to the resistance and the coil turns. The output response of the NES-VBPEEH exhibits certain nonlinear characteristics as the external excitation amplitude increases to a certain value. The damping and nonlinear stiffness of the NES can significantly affect the output power of the NES-VBPEEH, and appropriate parameter selection can help to achieve the dual efficacy goals of vibration suppression and vibration energy harvesting for the energy harvester.

Experiment and performance analysis of serpentine-shaped cantilever beam for pipeline vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvester prototype development

Experiment and performance analysis of serpentine-shaped cantilever beam for pipeline vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvester prototype development

Fluid Flow to Electricity: Capturing Flow-Induced Vibrations with Micro-Electromechanical-System-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvester.

We introduce a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) energy harvester, designed for capturing flow energy. Moving beyond traditional vibration-based energy harvesting, our approach incorporates a cylindrical oscillator mounted on an MEMS chip, effectively harnessing wind energy through flow-induced vibration (FIV). A highlight of our research is the development of a comprehensive fabrication process, utilizing a 5.00 µm thick cantilever beam and piezoelectric film, optimized through advanced micromachining techniques. This process ensures the harvester's alignment with theoretical predictions and enhances its operational efficiency. Our wind tunnel experiments confirmed the harvester's capability to generate a notable electrical output, with a peak voltage of 2.56 mV at an 8.00 m/s wind speed. Furthermore, we observed a strong correlation between the experimentally measured voltage frequencies and the lift force frequency observed by CFD analysis, with dominant frequencies identified in the range of 830 Hz to 867 Hz, demonstrating the potential application in actual flow environments. By demonstrating the feasibility of efficient energy conversion from ambient wind, our research contributes to the development of sustainable energy solutions and low-power wireless electron devices.

Buckling-driven piezoelectric defect-induced energy localization and harvesting using a Rubik’s cube-inspired phononic crystal structure

Wireless sensor networks that enable advanced internet of things (IoT) applications have experienced significant development. However, low-power electronics are limited by battery lifetime. Energy harvesting presents a solution for self-powered technologies. Vibration-based energy harvesting technology is one of the effective approaches to convert ambient mechanical energy into electrical energy. Various dynamic oscillating systems have been proposed to investigate the effectiveness of energizing low-power electronic sensor devices for supporting various IoT applications across engineering disciplines. Phononic crystal structures have been implemented in vibrational energy harvesters due to their unique bandgap and wave propagation properties. This work proposes a Rubik’s cube-inspired defective-state locally resonant three-dimensional (3D) phononic crystal with a 5 × 5 × 5 perfect supercell that contains 3D piezoelectric energy harvesting units. The advantage of defect-induced energy localization is utilized to harness vibrational energy. The 3D piezoelectric energy harvesting units are constructed by the buckling-driven assembling principle. Adapting to the low-frequency and broadband characteristics of ambient vibration sources, soft silicone gel is used to encapsulate the buckled 3D piezoelectric units, which are embedded in the 3D cubic phononic crystal to assemble an entire system. The energy harvesting performance of various defective layouts and their defect modes is discussed. The results demonstrate that the harvester functions well under multidirectional, multimodal, and low-frequency conditions. The proposed methodology also offers a new perspective on vibrational energy harvesters for defective phononic crystals with superior working performance.

Different Scenarios of Autonomous Operation of an Environmental Sensor Node Using a Piezoelectric-Vibration-Based Energy Harvester.

This paper delves into the application of vibration-based energy harvesting to power environmental sensor nodes, a critical component of modern data collection systems. These sensor nodes play a crucial role in structural health monitoring, providing essential data on external conditions that can affect the health and performance of structures. We investigate the feasibility and efficiency of utilizing piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters to sustainably power environmental wireless sensor nodes on the one hand. On the other hand, we exploit different approaches to minimize the sensor node's power consumption and maximize its efficiency. The investigations consider various sensor node platforms and assess their performance under different voltage levels and broadcast frequencies. The findings reveal that optimized harvester designs enable real-time data broadcasting with short intervals, ranging from 1 to 3 s, expanding the horizons of environmental monitoring, and show that in case the system includes a battery as a backup plan, the battery's lifetime can be extended up to 9 times. This work underscores the potential of vibration energy harvesting as a viable solution for powering sensor nodes, enhancing their autonomy, and reducing maintenance costs in remote and challenging environments. It opens doors to broader applications of sustainable energy sources in environmental monitoring and data collection systems.

Nonlinear double-mass pendulum for vibration-based energy harvesting

To enhance the performance of a vibration-based energy harvester, typical approaches employ frequency-matching strategies by either using nonlinear broadband or frequency-tunable harvesters. This study systematically analyzes the nonlinear dynamics and energy harvesting performance of a recently emerging tunable low-frequency vibration-based energy harvester, namely, a double-mass pendulum (DMP) energy harvester. This energy harvester can, to some extent, eliminate frequency dependence on pendulum length but exhibit vibration-amplitude-dependent softening nonlinearity. The natural frequency of the DMP structure is theoretically derived, showing several unique characteristics compared with the typical simple pendulum. The DMP energy harvester exhibits alternate single-period, multiple-period, and chaotic vibration behaviors with increase in excitation amplitudes. The analysis of gross output power indicates that the rotating motion, regardless of chaotic or periodic rolling motions, improves the energy harvesting performance in terms of power leap and broader bandwidth. Based on the parameter space analysis, the rotating motions usually occur at the shift-left locations of frequency ratios 1 and 2; a smaller damping ratio corresponds to a lower on-demand excitation amplitude for the rotating-motion occurrence. Numerical results confirm that the DMP is suitable for low-frequency energy harvesting scenarios, suggesting the realization of rotating motion for improving energy harvesting performance. Moreover, a shake table test was performed, and the experimental results validated the accuracy and effectiveness of the DMP modeling analysis. Practical issues related to DMP energy harvesters under different types of excitations are finally discussed. Although the analysis is for the DMP, the corresponding conclusions may shed light on other pendulum-type energy harvesters.

Evaluation of Power Storage Circuit for Piezoelectric Energy Harvester in Impact Mode

Power storage circuit is crucial to the performance of the vibration energy harvesting system as it will affect the amount of energy that can be harvested. The objective of this paper is to discuss the design and evaluation of power storage circuit for the vibration-based impact mode piezoelectric energy harvester. The proposed power storage circuit consists of rectifier circuit with rectifier capacitor, voltage regulator and the storage device. Evaluation on the rectifier circuit and the power storage circuit is carried out with variation in the resistive load and some other components. Results show that for the multiple impact input, full wave rectifier produces higher output than that of the other circuit. In addition to that, the proposed storage circuit can produce a stable output voltage and output power at about 40 Hz of operating frequency range. This show that piezoelectric energy harvester in impact mode can operate well with the proposed power storage circuit.

Design, numerical analysis and experiments of different types auxetic beams for vibration based energy harvester

In this study, different types of auxetic beams were designed and their vibration characteristics were investigated experimentally and numerically for to improve output electrical power in energy harvesting applications. In order to analyze the energy harvesting performance of all designed beams, different frequency conditions were investigated. To see the vibration-based energy harvesting potential of all auxetic beams, the displacement responses under vibration were analyzed using different methods. Firstly experimental modal analysis of non-traditional beams were made and compare with the FEM methods numerically. The displacement of beam were obtained under forced vibration by numerical harmonic analysis to evaluate beams in terms of energy harvesting performance. Then, sinusoidal vibration experiments in the electro-mechanical shaker were carried out in order to verify numerical modal analyses results for non-classical beams. Finally, galloping geometry was attached to the ends of all auxetic samples produced and exposed to wind load. The effect of air flow on beam vibrations and energy harvesting performance was investigated experimentally.

Design analysis and simulation of serpentine-shaped piezoelectric cantilever beam for pipeline vibration-based energy harvester

<abstract> <p>This study investigated the design and simulation of a novel serpentine-shaped piezoelectric cantilever beam to harness pipeline vibration energy. As the demand for sustainable energy sources increases, harvesting piezoelectric energy from environmental vibrations offers an attractive way to use low-power devices. The purpose of the proposed serpentine configuration is to improve energy dissipation efficiency by maximizing the piezoelectric material exposure to dynamic mechanical stress caused by pipeline vibration. The design process included finite element analysis simulations performed using COMSOL Multiphysics software to optimize the geometry of the cantilever beam. The serpentine structure was strategically designed to take advantage of the flexural vibration caused by the pipeline and its operating dynamics. Extensive simulations evaluated the piezoelectric cantilever beam, taking into account various parameters such as beam size, shape and material properties. From the analysis conducted in COMSOL Multiphysics software, the model was able to produce up to 14.38 V at the resonant frequency of 263 Hz. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the serpentine-shaped piezoelectric cantilever in generating electrical energy from the pipeline vibrations within the safe vibration region of the pipeline from 10 to 300 Hz.</p> </abstract>

A Review of Nonlinear Mechanisms for Frequency Up-Conversion in Energy Harvesting

Vibration-based energy harvesting has garnered considerable attention from researchers over the past two decades, using different transduction mechanisms. In this context, the utilization of piezoelectric materials has proven to be highly successful, due to their power density, across a broad range of voltages. A primary challenge in environmental vibration harvesting lies in the frequency mismatch between the devices, which typically exhibit optimal performance at hundreds or thousands of hertz due to their small size (centimeter or millimeter) and the environmental vibration. The latter has considerable energy density around tens of hertz. For this reason, over the last 15 years, the scientific community has concentrated on exploring techniques for band broadening or frequency up-conversion by intentionally introduced (or designed) nonlinearities. This review, following an introduction to the topic of vibration energy harvesting, provides a description of the primarily developed mechanisms, presenting a chronological development for each, from the initial works to the most recent advancements. Additionally, the review touches upon implementation efforts at the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) scale for each described technique. Finally, the incorporation of nonlinearities through electronic circuits to enhance performance is briefly discussed.

Means of Enhancing the Power Output and Widening the Operational Frequency Band of Vibration-Based Electromagnetic Energy Harvester

Means of Enhancing the Power Output and Widening the Operational Frequency Band of Vibration-Based Electromagnetic Energy Harvester

Study application of an unmoored ocean wave energy harvester with harmonic and random excitation

Vibration-based Energy Harvesting offers a promising technique for generating sustainable energy for electronic devices by converting ambient kinetic energy into predictable electrical energy. On the other hand, these systems can be considered as a replacement for the battery, which of course should be portable. Ocean wave energy is a rich source of ambient energy that is often underutilized for vibration energy generation due to the low frequency of ocean waves. Although ocean wave energy harvesters are considered by many researchers, unmoored vibration-based ocean wave energy harvesters with low frequency and random excitation have not been studied. This study proposes and examines a new energy harvesting system that unlike usual ocean wave energy harvesters is not anchored to the seabed and can use both roll and pitch motions of the ocean waves. The dynamic behavior of the energy harvester, which consists of an inverted pendulum and a mechanical rectifier, is formulated, and experimentally validated. In order to do this, the damping of the rectifier is experimentally determined and considered as part of the equivalent damping of the whole system. Then the effect of changing the nondimensional mass and geometry of the floater on the oscillatory behavior of the system under harmonic and random excitation is investigated. To do so, using the strip theory method, equivalent dynamic parameters of the different floater are calculated. It is shown that optimizing the non-dimensional mass of the energy harvester can lead to an energy harvester that produces relatively equal power under both random and harmonic excitation. To study the random behavior of ocean waves, Pierson-Moskowitz Spectrum is used. The relevant design recommendations for the presented energy harvester are summarized in a table. Finally, it is shown that the presented system is flexible in the choice of design parameters and can generate large amounts of energy.

Nonlinear Dynamics of a Broadband Vortex-Induced Vibration–Based Energy Harvester

Nonlinear Dynamics of a Broadband Vortex-Induced Vibration–Based Energy Harvester

Novel optimization strategy of a flow-induced piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvesting structure

In this paper, a novel boundary layer enhancement structure as well as various bluff body arrangement strategies were proposed to optimize the voltage output performance of a piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvest equipment. A systematic investigation in both numerical and experimental approaches revealed that an inversed 6-cylinder bluff body arrangement yielded significantly better voltage output performance than the previously reported dual-cylinder arrangement. A positive correlation can be observed between both flow velocity and the voltage output, and the cantilever beam tends to oscillate at a slightly higher frequency under a higher inflow velocity. A very noticeable improvement was observed when the proposed wall structure was applied, and our numerical study revealed that the wall structure induced a relatively stable layer of fluid near the wall and led to a much more chaotic wake of the bluff bodies which may account for the performance improvement of the system.

Non-transient optimum design of nonlinear electromagnetic vibration-based energy harvester using homotopy perturbation method

Abstract In this paper the coupled differential equations governing the vibration of nonlinear electromagnetic energy harvesters are solved by the homotopy perturbation method. The amplitudes of odd harmonics of displacement of the magnet, coil current, and load voltage are derived up to the 5th harmonic. The frequency response of output power is plotted and it peaks at the linear mechanical resonance frequency. It should be noted that the optimum design of coil and load parameters, optimum electromagnetic coupling coefficient, and optimum vibration frequency of the magnet attached to a non-linear spring resulted in a stationary or non-transient vibration. Paying insufficient attention to this point and using typical parameters instead of optimum ones will result in transient vibration. The research aims at a rigorous semi-analytical method on a nonlinear problem which has previously solely investigated by numerical or experimental method.

Harnessing adaptive bistable stiffness of hair-cell-bundle structure for broadband vibration applications

This study presents an initial study on the adaptive bistable stiffness of the hair cell bundle structure in a frog cochlea, and aims to harness its bistable nonlinearity that features a negative stiffness region for broadband vibration applications such as vibration-based energy harvesters. To this end, the mathematical model for describing the bistable stiffness is first formulated based on the modeling concept of piecewise type nonlinearities. The harmonic balance method was then employed to examine the nonlinear responses of bistable oscillator, mimicking hair cells bundle structure under the frequency sweeping condition, and their dynamic behaviors induced by bistable stiffness characteristics are projected on phase diagrams, and Poincare maps concerning the bifurcation. In particular, the bifurcation mapping at the super- and sub-harmonic regimes provides a better perspective to examine the nonlinear motions which occur in the biomimetic system. The use of bistable stiffness characteristics of hair cell bundle structure in frog cochlea thus offers physical insights to harness the adaptive bistable stiffness for metamaterial-like potential engineering structures such as vibration-based energy harvester, and isolator etc.

Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters: New Ways to Scavenge Energy

The need for wirelessly connected systems is heavily anticipated in today’s smart world since it is necessary for such a world to quickly transform into a global market through them [...]

Transient response of energy harvesting systems with multi-well potential under Poisson white noise excitations

This paper studies the transient response of vibration-based energy harvesting (VEH) systems characterized by multi-well potential functions exposed to Poisson white noise excitations. With the recently developed radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) approach, the generalized Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov (GFPK) equation in three-dimensional state space for the transient probability density function (PDF) is solved. The trial solution is composed of a series of radial basis Gaussian functions, each multiplied by a time-varying weight coefficient. The method of Lagrange multiplier is introduced for the constraint of weight coefficients to normalized the trial solution of the PDF solution. As examples to validate the proposed solution approach, the mono-stable and tri-stable energy harvester systems are studied. Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) have been applied to check the analytical solution. Some theoretical trends of the harvested mean square voltage (MSV) as a function of system parameters are examined. The non-Gaussian excitation and time-varying nature of the system can significantly affect the MSV output. It is noted that this work provides researchers and engineers a tool to optimize energy harvesting systems operated in random environment.

Broadband Vibration-Based Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Applications Using Frequency Upconversion.

Silicon-based kinetic energy converters employing variable capacitors, also known as electrostatic vibration energy harvesters, hold promise as power sources for Internet of Things devices. However, for most wireless applications, such as wearable technology or environmental and structural monitoring, the ambient vibration is often at relatively low frequencies (1-100 Hz). Since the power output of electrostatic harvesters is positively correlated to the frequency of capacitance oscillation, typical electrostatic energy harvesters, designed to match the natural frequency of ambient vibrations, do not produce sufficient power output. Moreover, energy conversion is limited to a narrow range of input frequencies. To address these shortcomings, an impacted-based electrostatic energy harvester is explored experimentally. The impact refers to electrode collision and it triggers frequency upconversion, namely a secondary high-frequency free oscillation of the electrodes overlapping with primary device oscillation tuned to input vibration frequency. The main purpose of high-frequency oscillation is to enable additional energy conversion cycles since this will increase the energy output. The devices investigated were fabricated using a commercial microfabrication foundry process and were experimentally studied. These devices exhibit non-uniform cross-section electrodes and a springless mass. The non-uniform width electrodes were used to prevent pull-in following electrode collision. Springless masses from different materials and sizes, such as 0.5 mm diameter Tungsten carbide, 0.8 mm diameter Tungsten carbide, zirconium dioxide, and silicon nitride, were added in an attempt to force collisions over a range of applied frequencies that would not otherwise result in collisions. The results show that the system operates over a relatively wide frequency range (up to 700 Hz frequency range), with the lower limit far below the natural frequency of the device. The addition of the springless mass successfully increased the device bandwidth. For example, at a low peak-to-peak vibration acceleration of 0.5 g (peak-to-peak), the addition of a zirconium dioxide ball doubled the device's bandwidth. Testing with different balls indicates that the different sizes and material properties have different effects on the device's performance, altering its mechanical and electrical damping.

Revisiting lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate piezoceramics for low-frequency mechanical vibration-based energy harvesting

Revisiting lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate piezoceramics for low-frequency mechanical vibration-based energy harvesting