Modeling and experimental verification of doubly nonlinear magnet-coupled piezoelectric energy harvesting from ambient vibration

This paper presents a nonlinear doubly magnet-coupled energy harvesting system (DMEHS) which could exhibit co-bistable and monostable dynamic characteristics. Its various characteristic responses induced by the magnetic force can be conveniently obtained using the adjustable horizontal distance between two coupled harvesters in the DMEHS. In the case of appropriate relative positions, the DMEHS appears in a co-bistable structure which is different from the traditional bistable structure. Additionally, both the inclination angle of endmost magnets and the displacement perpendicular to the vibration direction are taken into account to calculate the nonlinear magnetic force in the nonlinear electromechanical equations. The numerical investigations show good agreement with experimental results with respect to the output voltage response. Each harvester without magnetic coupling is tested independently to compare with the DMEHS. Both numerical and experimental results also demonstrate the frequency bandwidth and performance enhancements by changing the horizontal distance between the two coupled harvesters.