Hybrid energy harvesting based on cymbal and wagon wheel inspiration

Abstract

The demand for self-sufficient electronic devices is increasing as well as the overall energy use, and such demands are pushing technology forward, especially in effective energy harvesting. A novel hybrid energy harvesting system has been proposed and analysed in this article. It has been demonstrated that the energy harvesting system is capable of converting enough energy to power a typical micro-electro-mechanical system device. This has been achieved through unification of the nine–cymbal energy harvester array, as an energy harvesting core, and shape memory alloy active elements, acting as a source of force stimulated by the environmental changes. A finite element model was developed for the cymbal energy harvester, which was verified and used for the analysis of cymbal energy harvester’s response to the change of the end-cap material. This was followed by the finite element model for the energy harvesting system used for analysis of the location of shape memory alloy wires and force generated by each wire individually and then all together. As a further optimisation of the energy harvesting system, a novel wagon wheel design was explored in terms of its energy harvesting capabilities. As expected, due to the increased displacement, an increase in the power output was achieved.