Fundamental issues in nonlinear wideband-vibration energy harvesting

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2013 Apr;87(4):042129. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.87.042129. Epub 2013 Apr 29.

Abstract

Mechanically nonlinear energy harvesters driven by broadband vibrations modeled as white noise are investigated. We derive an upper bound on output power versus load resistance and show that, subject to mild restrictions that we make precise, the upper-bound performance can be obtained by a linear harvester with appropriate stiffness. Despite this, nonlinear harvesters can have implementation-related advantages. Based on the Kramers equation, we numerically obtain the output power at weak coupling for a selection of phenomenological elastic potentials and discuss their merits.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't