This paper investigates the concept and implementation of an energy harvesting device using a ferrofluid sloshing movement to generate an electromotive force (EMF). Ferrofluids are often applied to energy harvesting devices because they have both magnetic properties and fluidity, and they behave similarly to a soft ferromagnetic substance. In addition, a ferrofluid can change its shape freely and generate an EMF from small vibrations. The existing energy harvesting techniques, for example those using piezoelectric and thermoelectric devices, generate minimal electric power, as low as a few micro-watts. Through flow analysis of ferrofluids and examination of the magnetic circuit characteristics of the resultant electromagnetic system, an energy harvester model based on an electromagnetic field generated by a ferrofluid is developed and proposed. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is demonstrated and its EMF characteristics are discussed based on experimental data.

The most common structure of the current transformer (CT) consists of a length of wire wrapped many times around a silicon steel ring passed over the circuit being measured. Therefore, the primary circuit of CT consists of a single turn of the conductor, with a secondary circuit of many tens or hundreds of turns. The primary winding may be a permanent part of the current transformer, with a heavy copper bar to carry the current through the magnetic core. However, when the large current flows into a wire, it is difficult to measure its magnitude of current because the core is saturated and the core shows magnetic nonlinear characteristics. Therefore, we proposed a newly designed CT which has an air gap in the core to decrease the generated magnetic flux. Adding the air gap in the magnetic path increases the total magnetic reluctance against the same magnetic motive force (MMF). Using a ferrite core instead of steel also causes the generation of low magnetic flux. These features can protect the magnetic saturation of the CT core compared with the steel core. This technique can help the design of the CT to obtain a special shape and size.