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A Parametric Resonator With Low Threshold Excitation For Vibration Energy Harvesting, Shahrzad Towfighian, Wei Yang
A Parametric Resonator With Low Threshold Excitation For Vibration Energy Harvesting, Shahrzad Towfighian, Wei Yang
Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship
A parametric resonator for vibration energy harvesting is presented. Despite large responses from parametric resonance, two major drawbacks of parametric resonance harvesters are the high threshold excitation and narrow bandwidth. We addressed these two shortcomings by adding magnetic nonlinearity to the system. The proposed vibration energy harvester consists of two piezoelectric cantilevers beams, each with a magnetic tip. By controlling the distance between the two magnets, the threshold excitation level needed to trigger the parametric resonance decreases. Combining the softening and hardening behavior of the two magnetically coupled beams increases the frequency bandwidth. In addition, the amplitude of the response …
A Hybrid Nonlinear Vibration Energy Harvester, Wei Yang, Shahrzad Towfighian
A Hybrid Nonlinear Vibration Energy Harvester, Wei Yang, Shahrzad Towfighian
Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship
Vibration energy harvesting converts mechanical energy from ambient sources to electricity to power remote sensors. Compared to linear resonators that have poor performance away from their natural frequency, nonlinear vibration energy harvesters perform better because they use vibration energy over a broader spectrum. We present a hybrid nonlinear energy harvester that combines bi-stability with internal resonance to increase the frequency bandwidth. A two-fold increase in the frequency bandwidth can be obtained compared to a bi-stable system with fixed magnets. The harvester consists of a piezoelectric cantilever beam carrying a movable magnet facing a fixed magnet. A spring allows the magnet …