A vibration energy harvester using a nonlinear oscillator with self-excitation capability

Arata Masuda; Atsuko Senda

doi:10.1117/12.880905

27 April 2011 A vibration energy harvester using a nonlinear oscillator with self-excitation capability

Arata Masuda, Atsuko Senda

Proceedings Volume 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011; 79770V (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880905
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

This study concerns a vibration energy harvester of resonance-type with a nonlinear oscillator which can convert the kinetic energy of the vibration source to electric energy effectively in a wide frequency range. The conventional linear harvesters are designed so as to generate larger power by matching the natural frequency of the oscillator to the frequency of the source vibration. The problem is, however, that if the input frequency changes even in a slight amount, the performance of the harvester can become extremely worse because the effective bandwidth of the resonance is quite narrow. In this study, the resonance frequency band of the oscillator is expanded by using a nonlinear oscillator with a nonlinear spring to allow the harvester to generate larger electric power in wider frequency range. However, the nonlinear oscillator can have multiple stable steady-state responses in the resonance band, and it depends on the initial conditions which solution emerges. In this paper, the mechanism of self-excitation is utilized to unstabilize the solutions except for the largest amplitude solution. A charging circuit with a variable resistance which is controlled from negative to positive as a function of the response amplitude is introduced in order to enable the oscillator entrained by the excitation only in the large amplitude solution. Theoretical and numerical analyses are conducted to show that the nonlinear energy harvester with resistance control can respond in large amplitude in wide frequency range, and a significant improvement is achieved in the regenerated power compared with the one without control.

Citation Download Citation

Arata Masuda and Atsuko Senda "A vibration energy harvester using a nonlinear oscillator with self-excitation capability", Proc. SPIE 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011, 79770V (27 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880905

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available