Performance enhancement of a viscoelastic bistable energy harvester using time-delayed feedback control

This paper focuses on the stochastic analysis of a viscoelastic bistable energy harvesting system under colored noise and harmonic excitation, and adopts the time-delayed feedback control to improve its harvesting efficiency. Firstly, to obtain the dimensionless governing equation of the system, the original bistable system is approximated as a system without viscoelastic term by using the stochastic averaging method of energy envelope, and then is further decoupled to derive an equivalent system. The credibility of the proposed method is validated by contrasting the consistency between the numerical and the analytical results of the equivalent system under different noise conditions. The influence of system parameters on average output power is analyzed, and the control effect of the time-delayed feedback control on system performance is compared. The output performance of the system is improved with the occurrence of stochastic resonance(SR). Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio expression for measuring SR is derived, and the dependence of its SR behavior on different parameters is explored.

Bayesian system identification and chaotic prediction from data for stochastic Mathieu-van der Pol-Duffing energy harvester

In this paper,the approximate Bayesian computation combines the particle swarm optimization and se-quential Monte Carlo methods,which identify the parameters of the Mathieu-van der Pol-Duffing chaotic energy harvester system.Then the proposed method is applied to estimate the coefficients of the chaotic model and the response output paths of the identified coefficients compared with the observed,which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.Finally,a partial response sample of the regular and chaotic responses,determined by the maximum Lyapunov exponent,is applied to detect whether chaotic motion occurs in them by a 0-1 test.This paper can provide a reference for data-based parameter iden-tification and chaotic prediction of chaotic vibration energy harvester systems.

Theoretical Analysis of the Galloping Energy Harvesters under Bounded Random Parameter Excitation

In this paper,the response properties of galloping energy harvesters under bounded random parameter excitation are studied theoretically.The first-order approximate solution of the galloping energy harvester is derived by applying the multi-scales method.The expression for the largest Lyapunov exponent that determines the trivial solution is derived,and the corresponding simulation diagrams,including the largest Lyapunov exponent diagrams and time domain diagrams,verify our results.Then the steady-state response moments of the nontrivial solution are studied using the moment method,and the analytical expressions for the first-order and second-order moments of the voltage amplitude are obtained,respectively.The corresponding results show that wind speed enhances the steady-state response moments of the voltage amplitude.Meanwhile,the voltage output can be controlled by adjusting the cubic coefficient.To further verify the response characteristics of the galloping energy harvester,the stationary probability density functions of the displacement and velocity are obtained by the Monte-Carlo simulation method.The results show that the wind speed enhances the displacement of the bluff and the damping ratios should be reduced asmuch as possible to improve the performance.What’smore,the piezoelectric materials also impact the performance of the energy harvester.

Solar cell-based hybrid energy harvesters towards sustainability

Energy harvesting plays a crucial role in modern society.In the past years,solar energy,owing to its renewable,green,and infinite attributes,has attracted increasing attention across a broad range of applications from small-scale wearable electronics to large-scale energy powering.However,the utility of solar cells in providing a stable power supply for vari-ous electrical appliances in practical applications is restricted by weather conditions.To address this issue,researchers have made many efforts to integrate solar cells with other types of energy harvesters,thus developing hybrid energy har-vesters(HEHs),which can harvest energy from the ambient environment via different working mechanisms.In this re-view,four categories of energy harvesters including solar cells,triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs),piezoelectric nanogenerators(PENGs),and thermoelectric generators(TEGs)are introduced.In addition,we systematically summar-ize the recent progress in solar cell-based hybrid energy harvesters(SCHEHs)with a focus on their structure designs and the corresponding applications.Three hybridization designs through unique combinations of TENG,PENG,and TEG with solar cells are elaborated in detail.Finally,the main challenges and perspectives for the future development of SCHEHs are discussed.

Piezomagnetic vibration energy harvester with an amplifier

We study the effect of an amplification mechanism in a nonlinear vibration energy harvesting system where a ferromagnetic beam resonator is attached to the vibration source through an additional linear spring with a damper.The beam moves in the nonlinear double-well potential caused by interaction with two magnets.The piezoelectric patches with electrodes attached to the electrical circuit support mechanical energy transduction into electrical power.The results show that the additional spring can improve energy harvesting.By changing its stiffness,we observed various solutions.At the point of the optimal stiffness of the additional spring,the power output is amplified a few times depending on the excitation amplitude.

A comprehensive review of miniatured wind energy harvesters

Following the current rapid development of the Internet of Things(IoT)and wireless condition monitoring systems,energy harvesters which use ambient energy have become a key part of achieving an energy-autonomous system.Miniature wind energy harvesters have attracted widespread attention because of their great potential of power density as well as the rich availability of wind energy in many possible areas of application.This article provides readers with a glimpse into the state-of-the-art of miniature wind energy harvesters.The crucial factors for them to achieve high working efficiency under lower operational wind speed excitation are analyzed.Various potential energy coupling mechanisms are discussed in detail.Design approaches for broadening operational wind-speed-range given a variety of energy coupling mechanisms are also presented,as observed in the literature.Performance enhancement mechanisms including hydrodynamic configuration optimization,and non-linear vibration pick-up structure are reviewed.Conclusions are drawn and the outlook for each coupling mechanisms is presented.

COUPLED ANALYSIS FOR THE HARVESTING STRUCTURE AND THE MODULATING CIRCUIT IN A PIEZOELECTRIC BIMORPH ENERGY HARVESTER

The authors analyze a piezoelectric energy harvester as an electro-mechanically coupled system. The energy harvester consists of a piezoelectric bimorph with a concentrated mass attached at one end, called the harvesting structure, an electric circuit for energy storage, and a rectifier that converts the AC output of the harvesting structure into a DC input for the storage circuit. The piezoelectric bimorph is assumed to be driven into flexural vibration by an ambient acoustic source to convert the mechanical energies into electric energies. The analysis indicates that the performance of this harvester, measured by the power density, is characterized by three important non-dimensional parameters, i.e., the non-dimensional inductance of the storage circuit, the non-dimensional aspect ratio （length/thickness） and the non-dimensional end mass of the harvesting structure. The numerical results show that： （1） the power density can be optimized by varying the non-dimensional inductance for each fixed non-dimensional aspect ratio with a fixed non-dimensional end mass; and （2） for a fixed non-dimensional inductance, the power density is maximized if the non-dimensional aspect ratio and the non-dimensional end mass are so chosen that the harvesting structure, consisting of both the piezoelectric bimorph and the end mass attached, resonates at the frequency of the ambient acoustic source.

Enhanced galloping energy harvester with cooperative mode of vibration and collision

The low power and narrow speed range remain bottlenecks that constrain the application of small-scale wind energy harvesting.This paper proposes a simple,lowcost,and reliable method to address these critical issues.A galloping energy harvester with the cooperative mode of vibration and collision(GEH-VC)is presented.A pair of curved boundaries attached with functional materials are introduced,which not only improve the performance of the vibration energy harvesting system,but also convert more mechanical energy into electrical energy during collision.The beam deforms and the piezoelectric energy harvester(PEH)generates electricity during the flow-induced vibration.In addition,the beam contacts and separates from the boundaries,and the triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG)generates electricity during the collision.In order to reduce the influence of the boundaries on the aerodynamic performance and the feasibility of increasing the working area of the TENG,a vertical structure is designed.When the wind speed is high,the curved boundaries maintain a stable amplitude of the vibration system and increase the frequency of the vibration system,thereby avoiding damage to the piezoelectric sheet and improving the electromechanical conversion efficiency,and the TENG works with the PEH to generate electricity.Since the boundaries can protect the PEH at high wind speeds,its stiffness can be designed to be low to start working at low wind speeds.The electromechanical coupling dynamic model is established according to the GEH-VC operating principle and is verified experimentally.The results show that the GEH-VC has a wide range of operating wind speeds,and the average power can be increased by 180%compared with the traditional galloping PEH.The GEH-VC prototype is demonstrated to power a commercial temperature sensor.This study provides a novel perspective on the design of hybrid electromechanical conversion mechanisms,that is,to combine and collaborate based on their respective characteristics.

Nonlinear dynamics and performance analysis of modified snap-through vibration energy harvester with time-varying potential function

Vibration energy harvesting has emerged as a promising method to harvest energy for small-scale applications.Enhancing the performance of a vibration energy harvester(VEH)incorporating nonlinear techniques,for example,the snap-through VEH with geometric non-linearity,has gained attention in recent years.A conventional snap-through VEH is a bi-stable system with a time-invariant potential function,which was investigated extensively in the past.In this work,a modified snap-through VEH with a time-varying potential function subject to harmonic and random base excitations is investigated.Modified snap-through VEHs,such as the one considered in this study,are used in wave energy harvesters.However,the studies on their dynamics and energy harvesting under harmonic and random excitations are limited.The dynamics of the modified snap-through VEH is represented by a system of differential algebraic equations(DAEs),and the numerical schemes are proposed for its solutions.Under a harmonic excitation,the system exhibits periodic and chaotic motions,and the energy harvesting is superior compared with the conventional counterpart.The dynamics under a random excitation is investigated by the moment differential method and the numerical scheme based on the modified Euler-Maruyama method.The Fokker-Planck equation representing the dynamics is derived,and the marginal and joint probability density functions(PDFs)are obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation.The study shows that the modified snap-through oscillator based VEH performs better under both harmonic and random excitations.The dynamics of the system under stochastic resonance(SR)is investigated,and performance enhancement is observed.The results from this study will help in the development of adaptive VEH techniques in the future.

Performance of beam-type piezoelectric vibration energy harvester based on ZnO film fabrication and improved energy harvesting circuit

We demonstrate a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester with the ZnO piezoelectric film and an improved synchronous electric charge extraction energy harvesting circuit on the basis of the beam-type mechanical structure,especially investigate its output performance in vibration harvesting and ability to generate charges.By establishing the theoretical model for each of vibration and circuit,the numerical results of voltage and power output are obtained.By fabricating the prototype of this harvester,the quality of the sputtered film is explored.Theoretical and experimental analyses are conducted in open-circuit and closed-circuit conditions,where the open-circuit mode refers to the voltage output in relation to the ZnO film and external excitation,and the power output of the closed-circuit mode is relevant to resistance.Experimental findings show good agreement with the theoretical ones,in the output tendency.It is observed that the properties of ZnO film achieve regularly direct proportion to output performance under different excitations.Furthermore,a maximum experimental power output of 4.5 mW in a resistance range of 3 kΩ-8 kΩis achieved by using an improved synchronous electric charge extraction circuit.The result is not only more than three times the power output of classic circuit,but also can broaden the resistance to a large range of 5 kΩunder an identical maximum value of power output.In this study we demonstrate the fundamental mechanism of piezoelectric materials under multiple conditions and take an example to show the methods of fabricating and testing the ZnO film.Furthermore,it may contribute to a novel energy harvesting circuit with high output performance.

Modeling and Analysis of a Random Excited Double-Clamped Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

A double-clamped piezoelectric energy harvester subjected to random excitation is presented,for which corresponding analytical model is established to predict its output characteristics.With the presented theoretical natural frequency and equivalent stiffness of vibrator,the closed-form expressions of mean power and voltage acquired from the double-clamped piezoelectric energy harvester under random excitation are derived.Finally theoretical analysis is conducted for the output performance of the doubleclamped energy harvester with the change of spectrum density（SD）of acceleration,load resistance,piezoelectric coefficient and natural frequency value,which is found to closely agree with Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results.

Effects of springs on a pendulum electromechanical energy harvester

This paper studies a model of energy harvester that consists of an electromechanical pendulum system subjected to nonlinear springs. The output power is analyzed in terms of the intrinsic parameters of the device leading to optimal parameters for energy harvesting. It is found that in an appropriate range of the springs constant, the power attains higher values as compared to the case without springs. The dynamical behavior of the device shows transition to chaos.

Finite Element Analysis on a Square Canister Piezoelectric Energy Harvester in Asphalt Pavement

A novel square canister piezoelectric energy harvester was proposed for harvesting energy from asphalt pavement. The square of the harvester was of great advantage to compose the harvester array for harvesting energy from the asphalt pavement in a large scale. The open circuit voltage of the harvester was obtained by the piezoelectric constant d33 of the piezoelectric ceramic. The harvester is different from the cymbal harvester which works by the piezoelectric constant d31. The finite element model of the single harvester was constructed. The open circuit voltage increased with increase of the outer load. The finite element model of the single harvester buried in the asphalt pavement was built. The open circuit voltage, the deformation difference percent and the stress of the ceramic of the harvester were obtained with different buried depth. The open circuit voltage decreased when the buried depth was increased. The proper buried depth of the harvester should be selected as 30 - 50 mm. The effects of structure parameters on the open circuit voltage were gotten. The output voltage about 64.442 V could be obtained from a single harvester buried under 40 mm pavement at the vehicle load of 0.7 MPa. 0.047 mJ electric energy could be gotten in the harvester. The output power was about 0.705 mW at 15 Hz vehicle load frequency.

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvesters under simultaneous parametric and external excitations

The nonlinear dynamics of cantilevered piezoelectric beams is investigated under simultaneous parametric and external excitations. The beam is composed of a substrate and two piezoelectric layers and assumed as an Euler-Bernoulli model with inextensible deformation. A nonlinear distributed parameter model of cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvesters is proposed using the generalized Hamilton＇s principle. The proposed model includes geometric and inertia nonlinearity, but neglects the material nonlinearity. Using the Galerkin decomposition method and harmonic balance method, analytical expressions of the frequency-response curves are presented when the first bending mode of the beam plays a dominant role. Using these expressions, we investigate the effects of the damping, load resistance, electromechanical coupling, and excitation amplitude on the frequency-response curves. We also study the difference between the nonlinear lumped-parameter and distributed- parameter model for predicting the performance of the energy harvesting system. Only in the case of parametric excitation, we demonstrate that the energy harvesting system has an initiation excitation threshold below which no energy can be harvested. We also illustrate that the damping and load resistance affect the initiation excitation threshold.

Energy harvester array using piezoelectric circular diaphragm for rail vibration

Generating electric energy from mechanical vibration using a piezoelectric circular membrane array is presented in this paper.The electrical characteristics of the functional array consisted of three plates with varies tip masses are examined under dynamic conditions.With an optimal load resistor of 11 k,an output power of 21.4 m W was generated from the array in parallel connection at 150 Hz under a pre-stress of 0.8 N and a vibration acceleration of9.8 m/s2.Moreover,the broadband energy harvesting using this array still can be realized with different tip masses.Three obvious output power peaks can be obtained in a frequency spectra of 110 Hz to 260 Hz.The results show that using a piezoelectric circular diaphragm array can increase significantly the output of energy compared with the use of a single plate.And by optimizing combination of tip masses with piezoelectric elements in array,the frequency range can be tuned to meet the broadband vibration.This array may possibly be exploited to design the energy harvesting for practical applications such as future high speed rail.

Analysis on Output Power for Multi-direction Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

To predict the performance of multi-direction piezoelectric vibration energy harvester,an equation for calculating its output power is obtained based on elastic mechanics theory and piezoelectricity theory.Experiments are performed to verify theoretical analysis.When the excitation direction is along Y direction,a maximal output power about 0.139 mW can be harvested at a resistive load of 65kΩ and an excitation frequency of 136 Hz.Theoretical analysis agrees well with experimental results.Furthermore,the performance of multi-direction vibration energy harvester is experimentally tested.The results show that the multi-direction vibration energy harvester can harvest perfect energy as the excitation direction changes in XY plane,YZ plane,XZ plane and body diagonal plane of the harvester.

A piezoelectric energy harvester based on internal resonance

A vibration-based energy harvester is essentially a resonator working in a limited frequency range.To increase the working frequency range is a challenging problem.This paper reveals a novel possibility for enhancing energy harvesting via internal resonance.An internal resonance energy harvester is proposed.The excitation is successively assumed as the Gaussian white noise,the colored noise defined by a second-order filter,the narrow-band noise,and exponentially correlated noise.The corresponding averaged root-meansquare output voltages are computed.Numerical results demonstrate that the internal resonance increases the operating bandwidth and the output voltage.

Incident flow effects on the performance of piezoelectric energy harvesters from galloping vibrations

In this paper, we investigate experimentally the concept of energy har- vesting from galloping oscillations with a focus on wake and turbulence effects. The .harvester is composed of a unimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam with a square cross-section tip mass. In one case, the harvester is placed in the wake of another galloping harvester with the objective of determining the wake effects on the response of the harvester. In the second case, meshes were placed upstream of the harvester with the objective of investigating the effects of upstream turbulence on the response of the harvester. The results show that both wake effects and up- stream turbulence significantly affect the response of the harvester. Depending on the spacing between the two squares and the opening size of the mesh, wake and upstream turbulence can positively enhance the level of the harvested power.

Performance improvement of the stochastic-resonance-based tri-stableenergy harvester under random rotational vibration

In this paper,the stochastic-resonance-based tri-stable energy harvester(TEH)is proposed to enhance harvesting performance under random rotational vibration.An electromechanical coupled system interfaced with a standard rectifier circuit driven by colored noise is considered.The stationary probability density function(SPDF)of the harvester is obtained by the improved stochastic averaging.Then,with the adiabatic approximation theory,the analytical expression of signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)for the TEH is deduced to characterize stochastic resonance(SR).To enhance direct current(DC)power delivery from a rotational TEH,the influences of system parameters on SR is discussed.The obtained results suggest that there are damping-induced resonance and noise-intensity-induced SR in the tri-stable system.The TEH has higher harvesting performance under the optimal SR.That is,the optimal parameter combinations can induce optimal SR and maximize harvesting performance.Thus,the stochastic-resonance-based TEH can be optimized to enhance energy harvesting through choosing the optimal parameter.

Enhance limit cycle oscillation in a wind flow energy harvester system with fractional order derivatives

Advances in material science and mathematics in conjunction with tech- nological needs have triggered the use of material and electric components with fractional order physical properties. This paper considers the mathematical model of a piezoelectric wind flow energy harvester system for which the capacitance of the piezoelectric material has fractional order current-voltage characteristics. Additionally the mechanical element is assumed to have fractional order damping. The analysis is focused on the effects of order of derivatives on the appearance and characteristics of limit circle oscillations （LCO）. It is obtained that, the order of derivatives to enhance the amplitude of LCO and lower the threshold condition leading to LCO. The domains of efficiency of the system are illustrated in various parameters spaces.