Novel multi-stable energy harvester by exploring the benefits of geometric nonlinearity

This paper proposes the theoretical model and dynamical investigations of a novel multi-stable energy harvester using geometric nonlinearity technique. Among present energy harvesters one of them uses the elastic steel slices and springs, rather than the usual magnetic attraction and repulsion effects. Such a harvester is shown to outperform conventional linear harvesters and to overcome some of the most severe limitations of present approaches. By adjusting the geometric nonlinearity parameters, the energy harvester can possess multi-stable potential energy functions, ranging from mono-stable to quad-stable. The results show that the combined geometric nonlinearity can not only make jumping between potential wells easier, but also improve the efficiency of energy harvesting under low intensity excitations.