Modelling of a Bi-axial Vibration Energy Harvester.

摘要

This report fully details the techniques involved in the modelling of a nonlinear and bi-axial vibration energy harvesting device. The device utilises a wire-coil electromagnetic (EM) transducer within a nonlinear oscillator created with a permanent-magnet/ball-bearing arrangement. The mechanical oscillations of the ball-bearing in response to bi-axial vibrations in a host structure induce a voltage across the coil, and therefore energy to power an attached device - such as an in-situ structural health monitoring system on an aircraft platform. Modelling the mechanical dynamics and the transduction of the harvester is undertaken, by means of finite element analysis (FEA), the homotopy analysis method (HAM), a novel probability-of- existence approach to vibro-impact, and numeric EM calculations. The models produced demonstrate high accuracy in comparison to a laboratory prototype.