Potential of a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink for energy harvesting

The energy harvesting potential of a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VINES) is inves-tigated. Applying Signorini's contact law, the non-smooth dynamics is first formulated in a measure differential complementarity problem and treated using a Moreau-Jean scheme adapted with an energy-conserving integration method. The resulting scheme thus shows a good energy preservation property, allowing one to calculate the energy flow of the sys-tem in high precision. Exhaustive discussions are then carried out regarding the energy harvesting performance of the proposed VINES harvester, as well as their dependence on the underlying vibro-impact induced response regimes, under both transient and steady -state responses. It is demonstrated that the vibro-impact is responsible for achieving tar-geted energy transfer in the transient response or controlling the regimes in the steady -state response, to improve significantly the harvesting efficiency. Moreover, a properly designed VINES, working with 1-2 impacts per cycle, is capable for effective broadband energy harvesting over a wide amplitude and frequency range. Two specific considerations are also performed to evaluate further the generality and efficacy of the proposed har -vester, and it is proved the VINES can provide higher energy density than the classical lin-ear or cubic NES harvesters, and its effectiveness could be robust over a certain low level of noise. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study investigates the energy harvesting potential of a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VINES), showing that VINES can significantly improve energy harvesting efficiency in both transient and steady-state responses. It is also capable of effective broadband energy harvesting over a wide amplitude and frequency range.