On the Optimization of a Multimodal Electromagnetic Vibration Energy Harvester Using Mode Localization and Nonlinear Dynamics

Abstract

In this paper we study a generic model of a nonlinear quasiperiodic vibration energy harvester (VEH) based on electromagnetic transduction. The proposed device consists of multiple moving magnets guided by elastic beams and coupled by repulsive magnetic forces. A system of two degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) with tunable nonlinearity and mode localization is experimentally validated. The validated 2-DOFs harvester is optimized using a multiobjective optimization procedure to improve its harvested power and frequency bandwidth. An efficient criterion using the modal kinetic energy of the finite element model is proposed to quantify the energy localized in the structure perturbed zones. Afterward, this concept has been generalized to a 5-DOFs VEH with two perturbed DOFs oscillators and the optimal performances are derived using a multiobjective optimization. This proposed model enables a significant increase in the harvested power and frequency bandwidth by 101% and 79%, respectively, compared to that of the 2-DOFs device. Moreover, it has been shown that harvesting energy from two perturbed magnets among five provides almost the same amount of harvested energy and enhances the frequency bandwidth by 18% compared to those of the periodic system. Consequently, the harvester can be improved by reducing the transduction circuits number and the manufacturing cost.

Self-Powered Wireless Temperature and Vibration Monitoring System by Weak Vibrational Energy for Industrial Internet of Things

“…Therefore, the wireless systems installed on the equipment are expected to be powered by vibration energy harvesting for equipment operating conditions monitoring. In general, some traditional vibration energy harvesting technologies such as piezoelectric, – electromagnetic, , and electrostatic – can transfer vibration energy into electrical output. However, these energy harvesting technologies face a lot of challenges in harvesting the low-frequency and microamplitude vibration energy generated by the mechanical equipment, such as high resonance frequency, large manufacturing volume, and additional power requirement, which limits their further development.…”

“…Therefore, the wireless systems installed on the equipment are expected to be powered by vibration energy harvesting for equipment operating conditions monitoring. In general, some traditional vibration energy harvesting technologies such as piezoelectric, 10−12 electromagnetic, 13,14 and electrostatic 15−17 limits their further development. Therefore, a wireless system based on a low and wide frequency vibration energy harvesting technology is highly desired.…”

Optimal design for vibration energy harvesters based on quasi-periodic structures

“…For electromagnetic multi-DOFs VEH, optimization of the exploitation of the geometric nonlinearity and the nonlinear magnetic coupling has been done to increase the harvested power and bandwidth [33]. In addition, for a quasi-periodic system of 5-DOFs, an optimization procedure has been conducted to search for the optimal position for introducing perturbations to the system [34]. In a generalized large-scale periodic structure consisting of any number of DOFs, an optimal configuration design for perturbing the system increases the harvested output power.…”