Broadband electrostatic device for power harvesting

[摘要] This paper introduces a prototype energy harvester device with integrated MEMS capacitive plate and two impact oscillators for transferring energy from low frequency structural vibration with varying mechanical spectra to a vibration of a high resonance frequency cantilever. The use of the two impact oscillators not only harvested energy at low frequencies but also had demonstrated exceptionally sufficient and optimum dynamic responses to a broad frequency bandwidth between 13 Hz and 39 Hz, the bandwidth covering wide range of residual vibrations in structures and systems, without reduction in output power. The device was designed with a MEMS capacitor fixed at the free end of an aluminium cantilever clamped at one side, with a high resonance frequency of 605 Hz matched with the single-cavity capacitor, and two cantilevers made of Al sheet with low resonance frequencies of 18 Hz and 25 Hz. The results clearly demonstrates the device's ability for frequency up- conversion and harvesting power on a wide range from 13 Hz to 39 Hz at 1g excitation.

[发布机构] University of Missouri, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Columbia; MO, United States^1;University of Missouri, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Columbia; MO, United States^2

[效力级别] 能源学

[关键词] Frequency band width;Frequency up conversion;High resonance frequency;Impact oscillators;Low resonance frequency;Mechanical spectrum;Residual vibrations;Structural vibrations