Vibration energy harvester for variable speed rotor applications using passively self-tuned beams

Panagiotis Alevras*, Stephanos Theodossiades

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
110 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A vibration energy harvester is proposed for rotating systems based on transverse vibrations of an assembly of thin beams and electromagnetic interaction of a carried magnet with a coil of wire. The harvester is designed in a way such that centrifugal forces are utilized to tune the system's natural frequency to the expected frequency of torsional vibrations. In fact, a novel combination of a tuning mass positioned at the beam's support and an applied preload are introduced to establish a tuning mechanism that is capable of maintaining resonance along a wide frequency range. The device's tuning can cover relatively high rotor speeds, overcoming previous limitations on the size and the physics of tuning via axial loads. Moreover, exact expressions of the beams' mode shapes are taken into account to improve the accuracy of the proposed tuning mechanism. Numerical simulations of the device's response are carried out for case studies corresponding to different frequency orders. It is shown that the system can maintain a flat power output across a wide range of operating speeds, effectively leading to purely broadband energy harvesting.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)176-196
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Sound and Vibration
Volume444
Early online date16 Nov 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • Beam
  • Centrifugal force
  • Energy harvesting
  • Rotational
  • Self-tuning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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