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Energy Harvesting State of the Art and Challenges II

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D: Energy Storage and Application".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 4700

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jerry Luo

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Guest Editor

Lecturer in Energy Storage and Harvesting, Centre for Renewable Energy Systems, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
Interests: energy harvesting; renewable energy; sensors; manufacturing of functional materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Patrick Luk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
Interests: electric power machines; power systems & turbines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy harvesting is a process that captures small amounts of energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound, vibration or movement. It has been an important research topic in the past 20 years and is seen as a solution to the challenges that Internet of Things (IoT) devices (e.g., sensors, communications) face in power supply, which render many IoT applications impractical due to battery size, battery replacement, and recharging. Research on energy-harvesting technologies to meet the power demand of IoT devices is driven by the growing demand for self-sustainable systems that require minimum or no maintenance, implementation of the IoT in automation, and adoption of wireless sensor networks in various applications.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue covering all areas of energy harvesting research, including materials, structures, device design, power management, applications, etc. Review papers and research papers are both welcome. The aim of this issue is to provide readers with the current state-of-the-art developments in energy harvesting and their challenges, inspiring further research in advancing this exciting and important research topic.

Dr. Jerry Luo
Prof. Dr. Patrick Luk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

energy harvesting
state of the art
materials
structure
power management
application

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 6628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Wind-Speed Galloping Wind Energy Harvester Based on a W-Shaped Bluff Body

by Jianfeng Zheng, Zichang Li and Han Zhang

Energies 2024, 17(4), 958; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17040958 - 19 Feb 2024

Viewed by 618

Abstract

Galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvesting systems are being used to supply renewable electricity for low-power wireless sensor network nodes. In this paper, a W-shaped bluff body is proposed as the core component of a piezoelectric wind energy harvester. Experiments and simulations have shown that the W-shaped bluff body can improve harvesting efficiency at low wind speeds. For the W-shaped structure, the finite element simulation results indicate that the structure can help improve the aerodynamic performance to obtain high aerodynamic force. The experimental results demonstrate that compared with the traditional bluff bodies, the piezoelectric wind energy harvester with the W-shaped bluff body (WEHW) can generate higher output voltages and has a lower cut-in speed. When the length L is 30 mm and the rear groove angle β is 30°, the W-shaped structure can induce the best harvesting performance. When an external load resistance of 820 KΩ is connected and the wind speed is 5 m/s, the WEHW generates an average output power of 0.28 mW. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Harvesting State of the Art and Challenges II)

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26 pages, 2441 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Regulated 400-mV CMOS DC-DC Converter with On-the-Fly Equivalent Output Resistance Tuning

by Luis Felipe Machado Dutra, Alessandro G. Girardi, Paulo César C. de Aguirre and Lucas Compassi-Severo

Energies 2023, 16(13), 4868; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16134868 - 22 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 946

Abstract

Energy harvesting is a technology that can be applied to IoT systems to eliminate the need for batteries. Many types of energy sources are available for energy harvesting, such as light, thermal, vibration, and electromagnetic energy. Indoors, where most IoT devices are located, artificial light, such as from LED lamps, can be used for energy harvesting in circuits with very ultra-low power consumption. Integrated switch-capacitor DC-DC converters are required for this type of system to convert the harvested energy into a constant output voltage suitable for powering an electronic circuit. The idea of this work is to use a hysteretic feedback control consisting of comparators and a logic system to adjust the switching frequency and the voltage conversion ratio (VCR) of the converter. With this, the equivalent output resistance is tuned to a value that results in a constant output voltage. A new method for modeling the equivalent output resistance based on charge flow analysis is proposed, which also considers the effects of source resistance. An integrated energy-harvesting system consisting of a switched-capacitor DC-DC converter is implemented to obtain an output voltage of 400 mV using a small photovoltaic cell for energy harvesting from indoor light. The proposed system can power an ultra-low-power device between 20

μ

W and 40

μ

W with a minimum input voltage of 230 mV. Electrical simulation results show that the implemented converter can achieve a peak efficiency of 81.24% at an input voltage of 260 mV for a 20

μ

W load. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Harvesting State of the Art and Challenges II)

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Review

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26 pages, 4522 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Harnessing Energy for Wearables: A Review of Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting Technologies

by Ezekiel Darlington Nwalike, Khalifa Aliyu Ibrahim, Fergus Crawley, Qing Qin, Patrick Luk and Zhenhua Luo

Energies 2023, 16(15), 5711; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16155711 - 31 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2673

Abstract

Wireless energy harvesting enables the conversion of ambient energy into electrical power for small wireless electronic devices. This technology offers numerous advantages, including availability, ease of implementation, wireless functionality, and cost-effectiveness. Radio frequency energy harvesting (RFEH) is a specific type of wireless energy harvesting that enables wireless power transfer by utilizing RF signals. RFEH holds immense potential for extending the lifespan of wireless sensors and wearable electronics that require low-power operation. However, despite significant advancements in RFEH technology for self-sustainable wearable devices, numerous challenges persist. This literature review focuses on three key areas: materials, antenna design, and power management, to delve into the research challenges of RFEH comprehensively. By providing an up-to-date review of research findings on RFEH, this review aims to shed light on the critical challenges, potential opportunities, and existing limitations. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of further research and development in RFEH to advance its state-of-the-art and offer a vision for future trends in this technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Harvesting State of the Art and Challenges II)

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