Conceptual design of rotary magnetostrictive energy harvester

This paper presents the conceptual design of a rotary magnetostrictive energy harvester (RMEH), which consists of one coil-wound Galfenol cantilever, with two PMs adhered onto the each end, and one permanent magnet (PM) array sandwiched between two wheels. Modeling and simulation are used to validate the concept. The proof-of-concept RMEH is fabricated by using the simulation results, and subjected to the experimental characterization. The experimental setup for the simulated characterization uses the motor-driven PM array to induce a forced vibration. It can be concluded that the theoretical prediction on the induced voltage agrees well with the experimental results and that induced voltage increases with rpm and with number of PMs. Future work includes optimization of RMEH performance via PM array configuration and development of prototype. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.