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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Modeling and analysis of magnetic spring enhanced lever-type electromagnetic energy harvesters

This study presents a novel enhanced monostable lever-type electromagnetic energy harvester(L-EEH).According to the positions of the coil and the lever pivot,four configurations are discussed to realize a better harvesting performance of the L-EEHs.On the basis of establishing the theoretical model of the L-EEH,the corresponding analytical solutions can be obtained by applying the harmonic balance method.The effects of the nonlinear coefficient,the lever ratio,the mass ratio,and the circuit parameters on the energy harvesting performance of L-EEHs are analyzed and discussed.The numerical and experimental efforts are carried out to verify the theoretical model and the energy harvesting performance.The results demonstrate that the maximum output voltage can be achieved with an appropriate lever ratio.Furthermore,the L-EEH possesses a considerable energy harvesting performance under a smaller lever ratio compared with the other three configurations.The output power can also be improved by adjusting the tip mass of the lever.The proposed L-EEH has a considerable operating bandwidth and an output power,which can reach 146.6 mW under the excitation amplitude of 0.3 g.

Flexible multilayer MEMS coils and their application in energy harvesters

Electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters are promising for the power supply of wireless sensor nodes,small electronic devices,and wearable electronics.Conventional electromagnetic harvesters usually increase output by increasing the size of coils and magnets,limiting the improvement of energy conversion efficiency and power density.In this study,multilayer microelectromechanical system(MEMS)coils were prepared using flexible electronics,and their high integration performance in arbitrary space was utilized to greatly improve the utilization of the space magnetic field by the electromagnetic harvester.The core magnet of the generator was magnetically balanced to achieve levitation,which improved the sensitivity and reduced fatigue damage compared with traditional spring structures.The wound coils on the top and bottom of the magnet and the flexible coils on the sides worked together to improve the energy efficiency and output of the devices.The output performance of the device with different number distributions was simulated using mathematical models to obtain the optimal structural parameters.The results show that by introducing flexible multilayer MEMS coils on the side surface of the energy harvester,the open-circuit voltage of the energy generators increased from 7 to 10 V by more than 43%.Flexible multilayer MEMS coils can enhance energy conversion rates and possess compact dimensions,making them suitable for integration onto complex surfaces.After the vibration energy harvesting system testing,the maximum peak power of the harvester was 7.1 m W at an acceleration of1 g and a resonant frequency of 11 Hz with a resistor of 3.5 kΩinternal resistance.Moreover,a 470μF capacitor can be charged to 3.5 V within 10 s to drive a hygrothermograph to work for more than 80 s and can supply a light bulb continuously.This strategy shows the great potential of vibration-energy-driven electromagnetic generators for powering small electronics in limited spaces.

Typical dampers and energy harvesters based on characteristics of ferrofluids

Ferrofluids are a type of nanometer-scale functional material with fluidity and superparamagnetism.They are composed of ferromagnetic particles,surfactants,and base liquids.The main characteristics of ferrofluids include magnetization,the magnetoviscous effect,and levitation characteristics.There are many mature commercial ferrofluid damping applications based on these characteristics that are widely used in numerous fields.Furthermore,some ferrofluid damping studies such as those related to vibration energy harvesters and biomedical devices are still in the laboratory stage.This review paper summarizes typical ferrofluid dampers and energy harvesting systems from the 1960s to the present,including ferrofluid viscous dampers,ferrofluid inertia dampers,tuned magnetic fluid dampers(TMFDs),and vibration energy harvesters.In particular,it focuses on TMFDs and vibration energy harvesters because they have been the hottest research topics in the ferrofluid damping field in recent years.This review also proposes a novel magnetic fluid damper that achieves energy conversion and improves the efficiency of vibration attenuation.Finally,we discuss the potential challenges and development of ferrofluid damping in future research.

Energy Harvesting in the Wake of An Inverted C-Shaped Bluff Body

This paper proposes a novel wake-induced vibration(WIV)-based energy harvesting system consisting of two bluff bodies.An inverted C-shaped bluff body is stationary installed at the upstream position to generate an interference wake street,and a cylinder bluff body equipped with a transducer is elastically suspended at the downstream position to harness WIV energy.The hydrodynamics and energy harvesting(EH)performance of the proposed system are investigated via experimental studies.The reduced velocity(U*)ranging from 2 to 14(the corresponding Reynolds number ranging from 15100 to 106200)is considered in the present study.It is found that the wake generated by the inverted C-shaped bluff body significantly affects the EH performance.Enlarging the opening angle(α)of the C-shaped bluff body increases the vibration amplitude of the downstream cylinder,thereby increasing the harvested power.When the spacing(L)between two bluff bodies is two times the cylinder diameter(D),the wake-induced vibration(WIV)mode is observed,while the combined WIV and wake galloping(WG)mode occurs whenαis 150°,and L equals 3D or 4D.The average drag coefficient becomes negative when L is 2D,3D,or 4D.By carefully configuring a C-shaped bluff body,the wake generated by it can bring an augmenting effect on the vibration of the downstream EH cylinder.For example,the RMS power output of the proposed EH system reaches a maximum of 0.31 W at U*=8 and L=4D,which is 300%greater than that of its traditional counterpart.Furthermore,after a number of case stud-ies,it is identified that the proposed EH system can achieve the best performance whenαis 150°and L=2D.

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.

Advances in Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Blue Energy Harvesting and Marine Environmental Monitoring

Blue energy,which includes rainfall,tidal current,wave,and water-flow energy,is a promising renewable resource,although its exploitation is limited by current technologies and thus remains low.This form of energy is mainly harvested by electromagnetic generators(EMGs),which generate electricity via Lorenz force-driven electron flows.Triboelectric nano genera tors(TENGs)and TENG networks exhibit superiority over EMGs in low-frequency and high-entropy energy harvesting as a new approach for blue energy harvesting.A TENG produces electrical outputs by adopting the mechanism of Maxwell’s displacement current.To date,a series of research efforts have been made to optimize the structure and performance of TENGs for effective blue energy harvesting and marine environmental applications.Despite the great progress that has been achieved in the use of TENGs in this context so far,continuous exploration is required in energy conversion,device durability,power management,and environmental applications.This review reports on advances in TENGs for blue energy harvesting and marine environmental monitoring.It introduces the theoretical foundations of TENGs and discusses advanced TENG prototypes for blue energy harvesting,including TENG structures that function in freestanding and contact-separation modes.Performance enhancement strategies for TENGs intended for blue energy harvesting are also summarized.Finally,marine environmental applications of TENGs based on blue energy harvesting are discussed.

Outage Analysis of Optimal UAV Cooperation with IRS via Energy Harvesting Enhancement Assisted Computational Offloading

The utilization of mobile edge computing(MEC)for unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)communication presents a viable solution for achieving high reliability and low latency communication.This study explores the potential of employing intelligent reflective surfaces(IRS)andUAVs as relay nodes to efficiently offload user computing tasks to theMEC server system model.Specifically,the user node accesses the primary user spectrum,while adhering to the constraint of satisfying the primary user peak interference power.Furthermore,the UAV acquires energy without interrupting the primary user’s regular communication by employing two energy harvesting schemes,namely time switching(TS)and power splitting(PS).The selection of the optimal UAV is based on the maximization of the instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio.Subsequently,the analytical expression for the outage probability of the system in Rayleigh channels is derived and analyzed.The study investigates the impact of various system parameters,including the number of UAVs,peak interference power,TS,and PS factors,on the system’s outage performance through simulation.The proposed system is also compared to two conventional benchmark schemes:the optimal UAV link transmission and the IRS link transmission.The simulation results validate the theoretical derivation and demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme over the benchmark schemes.

Review of the Tuned Mass Damper Inerter(TMDI)in Energy Harvesting and Vibration Control:Designs,Analysis and Applications

Tuned mass damper inerter(TMDI)is a device that couples traditional tuned mass dampers(TMD)with an inertial device.The inertial device produces resistance proportional to the relative acceleration at its two ends through its“inertial”constant.Due to its unique mechanical properties,TMDI has received widespread attention and application in the past twenty years.As different configurations are required in different practical situations,TMDI is still active in the research on vibration control and energy harvesting in structures.This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research status of TMDI.This work first examines the generation and important vibration control characteristics of TMDI.Then,the energy harvesting performance of electromagnetic tuned mass damper inerter(EM-TMDI)is discussed.This work emphasizes the formation of a passive dynamic vibration absorber by coupling traditional TMD with inertial devices.This paper also summarizes the design and implementation of optimal vibration control and energy harvesting for TMDI.Furthermore,this paper details the applications of TMDI in the fields of bridges and building engineering.Finally,this paper summarizes the necessity of research on tuned mass-damper-inertia,the challenges faced currently,and future research directions,such as control of parameters in electromagnetic energy harvesting TMDI systems and low-cost TMDI.

A Distributionally Robust Optimization Scheduling Model for Regional Integrated Energy Systems Considering Hot Dry Rock Co-Generation

Hot dry rock(HDR)is rich in reserve,widely distributed,green,low-carbon,and has broad development potential and prospects.In this paper,a distributionally robust optimization(DRO)scheduling model for a regionally integrated energy system(RIES)considering HDR co-generation is proposed.First,the HDR-enhanced geothermal system(HDR-EGS)is introduced into the RIES.HDR-EGS realizes the thermoelectric decoupling of combined heat and power(CHP)through coordinated operation with the regional power grid and the regional heat grid,which enhances the system wind power(WP)feed-in space.Secondly,peak-hour loads are shifted using price demand response guidance in the context of time-of-day pricing.Finally,the optimization objective is established to minimize the total cost in the RIES scheduling cycle and construct a DRO scheduling model for RIES with HDR-EGS.By simulating a real small-scale RIES,the results show that HDR-EGS can effectively promote WP consumption and reduce the operating cost of the system.

Dynamic analysis of a novel multilink-spring mechanism for vibration isolation and energy harvesting

Due to technical limitations,existing vibration isolation and energy harvesting(VIEH)devices have poor performance at low frequency.This paper proposes a new multilink-spring mechanism(MLSM)that can be used to solve this problem.The VIEH performance of the MLSM under harmonic excitation and Gaussian white noise was analyzed.It was found that the MLSM has good vibration isolation performance for low-frequency isolation and the frequency band can be widened by adjusting parameters to achieve a higher energy harvesting power.By comparison with two special cases,the results show that the MLSM is basically the same as the other two oscillators in terms of vibration isolation but has better energy harvesting performance under multistable characteristics.The MLSM is expected to reduce the impact of vibration on high-precision sensitive equipment in some special sites such as subways and mines,and at the same time supply power to structural health monitoring devices.

Performance Analysis and Optimization of Energy Harvesting Modulation for Multi-User Integrated Data and Energy Transfer

Integrated data and energy transfer(IDET)enables the electromagnetic waves to transmit wireless energy at the same time of data delivery for lowpower devices.In this paper,an energy harvesting modulation(EHM)assisted multi-user IDET system is studied,where all the received signals at the users are exploited for energy harvesting without the degradation of wireless data transfer(WDT)performance.The joint IDET performance is then analysed theoretically by conceiving a practical time-dependent wireless channel.With the aid of the AO based algorithm,the average effective data rate among users are maximized by ensuring the BER and the wireless energy transfer(WET)performance.Simulation results validate and evaluate the IDET performance of the EHM assisted system,which also demonstrates that the optimal number of user clusters and IDET time slots should be allocated,in order to improve the WET and WDT performance.

Response regimes of nonlinear energy harvesters with a resistorinductor resonant circuit by complexification-averaging method

In this paper, the steady-state response regimes of nonlinear energy harvesters with a resistor-inductor resonant circuit are theoretically investigated. The complexification averaging(CA) method is used to theoretically analyze the energy harvesting performance and reduce the motion equations into a set of first-order differential equations. The amplitudes and phases of both the response displacement and the output voltage are derived, and the corresponding stability conditions are determined. The response regimes are studied with the variation of nonlinear stiffness coefficients and coupling parameters, which are verified by the time domain analysis. The frequency island phenomenon is found and analyzed. Additionally, the backbone curve for deducing the extreme vibration frequency and amplitude is derived. Simultaneously, the analytical expressions of the switching points(critical amplitude and frequency) to identify the hardening and softening properties are established. Accordingly, a criterion is given to determine the occurrence of the jump phenomenon, and its effectiveness is verified. Overall, this paper presents an in-depth theoretical analysis of nonlinear energy harvesters with a resistor-inductor resonant circuit. It presents the theoretical framework and guidance for more extensive evaluations and understanding the theoretical analysis of nonlinear energy harvesters with external circuits.

A Novel Strategy to Fabricate Core-Sheath Structure Piezoelectric Yarns for Wearable Energy Harvesters

Wearable and portable electronic devices based on textile structure have been widely used owing to their wearability and comfortableness.However,yarn fineness and the comfort of the fabric cannot satisfy the requirements of smart wearable devices.This work presents a novel strategy to prepare highly integrated PVDF/conductive nylon core-sheath structure piezoelectric yarns for wearable which is fabricated by combining electrospinning strategy with 2D braiding technology.The fineness of single yarns as well as strength are both improved significantly compared to previous works.The piezoelectric outputs of the yarn are still stable after 800 s fatigue test at a frequency of 4 Hz,and the cycle stability can maintain more than 3200 cycles.Furthermore,the piezoelectric yarns are further woven into piezoelectric plain fabric.According to the electrical performance,the length of the piezoelectric yarn and the thickness of the piezoelectric layer would both affect the output electrical performance.The yarn of the 10 cm in length and 600μm in fineness can produce an output voltage of 120 mV.Meanwhile,Both the piezoelectric yarn and the fabric could generate piezoelectric output signals through human movement,such as bending,walking.Therefore,the electrical and mechanical performance of the piezoelectric yarns prepared in our work could be improved significantly,and the comfortableness and durability performance of the piezoelectric fabric can satisfy most wearing requirements,which would provide some help in the field of piezoelectric wearable devices based on yarns and fabrics.

Recent Advances and Challenges Toward Application of Fibers and Textiles in Integrated Photovoltaic Energy Storage Devices

Flexible microelectronic devices have seen an increasing trend toward development of miniaturized,portable,and integrated devices as wearable electronics which have the requirement for being light weight,small in dimension,and suppleness.Traditional three-dimensional(3D)and two-dimensional(2D)electronics gadgets fail to effectively comply with these necessities owing to their stiffness and large weights.Investigations have come up with a new family of one-dimensional(1D)flexible and fiber-based electronic devices(FBEDs)comprising power storage,energy-scavenging,implantable sensing,and flexible displays gadgets.However,development and manufacturing are still a challenge owing to their small radius,flexibility,low weight,weave ability and integration in textile electronics.This paper will provide a detailed review on the importance of substrates in electronic devices,intrinsic property requirements,fabrication classification and applications in energy harvesting,energy storage and other flexible electronic devices.Fiber-and textile-based electronic devices for bulk/scalable fabrications,encapsulation,and testing are reviewed and presented future research ideas to enhance the commercialization of these fiber-based electronics devices.

Performance enhancement of cantilever piezoelectric energy harvesters by sizing analysis

This paper presents the results of the performance of piezoelectric cantilever beams in relation to their size.The total produced power represents the main indicator of performance of a piezoelectric harvesting system while the area of the beams stays constant.Lightweight design is an important aspect in any industry,mainly in the aerospace.In this study,the effects of non-uniformity on the efficiency and power output are studied.Finite element method(FEM)with the application of superconvergent element(SCE)is adopted here to solve the equations.It is observed that the trapezoidal geometry(converging beam)provides a higher output power while the efficiency decreases.Moreover,in order to prove that the power enhancement is achievable while the amount of piezoelectric material consumed is constant the new configuration is proposed.In the configuration,an array of uniform beams connected in series is used instead of one single rectangular beam.The proposed setting generates an output power of 1.817mWat a resonant frequency of 284.6 Hz when excited by an input acceleration of 1 g.The only challenge is the fundamental frequency difference which ismet with the application of proof mass and thinner substrate and piezoelectric layers.