Driven by an eccentric mass through a two-layered cantilevered plectrum, the electromagnetic energy harvester (EEH) can convert low-frequency mechanical vibrations into continuous uni-directional rotation. To optimize the performance of the EEH, electromagnetic analysis of the EEH was conducted. Three-phase winding permanent magnet (PM) topology was employed, and combinations of different coils and magnet pole numbers were designed. Then, the finite element method (FEM) was applied to analyze the influence of the combinations of the coils and pole numbers as well as the PM dimensions on the three-phase induced voltage. Prototypes with different configurations were fabricated and the analysis effectiveness was confirmed. Furthermore, different types of stator yokes were designed to enhance the magnetic field. Compared to the original prototype, the output voltage of the optimal prototype increased by 0.5 V with the same rotation speed, and the harmonic components were sufficiently low. Then, experiments with excitation by linear reciprocating motions and swing motions were conducted. Under different exciting conditions, the optimal prototype can also induce the highest voltage amplitude. With an increase in the weight of the eccentric mass, a long duration can be reached that lasts up to 12 s. In summary, the proposed optimization can achieve a high-efficiency and high-power density EEH.
Breeze energy is a widely distributed renewable energy source in the natural world, but its efficient exploitation is very difficult. The conventional harvester with fixed arm length (HFA) has a relatively high start-up wind speed owing to its high and constant rotational inertia. Therefore, this paper proposes a harvester with a helix s-type vertical axis (HSVA) for achieving random energy capture in the natural breeze environment. The HSVA is constructed with two semi-circular buckets driven by the difference of the drag exerted, and the wind energy is transferred into mechanical energy. Firstly, as the wind speed changes, the HSVA harvester can match the random breeze to obtain highly efficient power. Compared with the HFA harvester, the power coefficient is significantly improved from 0.15 to 0.2 without additional equipment. Furthermore, it has more time for energy attenuation as the wind speeds dropped from strong to moderate. Moreover, the starting torque is also better than that of HFA harvester. Experiments showed that the HSVA harvester can improve power performance on the grounds of the wind speed ranging in 0.8–10.1 m/s, and that the star-up wind speed is 0.8 m/s and output peak power can reach 17.1 mW. In comparison with the HFA harvester, the HSVA harvester can obtain higher efficient power, requires lower startup speed and keeps energy longer under the same time. Additionally, as a distributed energy source, the HSVA harvester can provide a self-generating power supply to electronic sensors for monitoring the surrounding environment.
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