Wideband, low-frequency springless vibration energy harvesters: part I

We present a novel architecture for wideband and low-frequency vibration energy harvesting (VEH). Springless vibration energy harvesters (SVEH) employ impact oscillators as energy harvesting elements. A seismic mass moves along a linear guide limited by stoppers at both ends of the track. An electromagnetic transducer converts the kinetic energy captured by the mass into electrical energy. Experiments using prototypes of the horizontal SVEH demonstrated low frequency harvesting (<20 Hz), wideband harvesting (up to 6.0 Hz), and an optimal rectified output power of P = 12 mW for a base acceleration amplitude of 0.5 g. A model of the electromagnetic SVEH was developed and validated experimentally. A figure of merit was defined to quantify realizable output power in linear and nonlinear VEHs. Comparison using this figure of merit shows that electromagnetic SVEHs outperform their linear counterparts by 92%-232% for acceleration amplitudes in the range of 0.4-0.6 g.