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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F3: Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 June 2024 | Viewed by 12490

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Dr. Hassen M. Ouakad

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Guest Editor

Mediterranean Institute of Technology, South Mediterranean University, Tunis 1053, Tunisia
Interests: computational mechanics; MEMS; NEMS; mechanical vibration; linear and nonlinear dynamics; system control; smart mechatronics systems; energy scavenging/harvesting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Issam M. Bahadur

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Guest Editor

Mechanical and Indistrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman
Interests: System Control; Automation; Instrumentation; Smart Mechatronics Systems; Energy Harvesting

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the remarkable developments in the domain of low-power electronics, the cost/power requirements of many mechatronic and electronic devices have dropped considerably in recent years. This enabled their extensive utilization in sensor networks and embedded components. In such applications, there has been a need for research on the harvesting of wasted energy from the ambient environment to provide a source of low power for these electronic devices. Accordingly, vibration-based energy harvesters have recently prospered as a key area in this regard. This energy-scavenging process exploits the ability of some electromechanical processes (e.g., electromagnetic, piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, hybrid designs) to convert the energy of ambient mechanical vibrations to useful electrical energy that can successively be stored and then used as a remote power source. However, the past and recent literature indicate that the efficient design of such vibration-based generators requires a thorough understanding of the design components as well as the dynamics of the overall system.

Therefore, this Special Issue offers a number of current investigations in the area of vibration-based energy harvesting, addressing a variety of topics from application to analysis, all with the goal of increasing the power that can be harvested from the ambient environment. The projected research efforts could include a range of studies from simulation to experimental examinations and optimizations that include a variety of linear and nonlinear designs with possible different size scales (macro to nano).

Dr. Hassen M. Ouakad
Dr. Issam M. Bahadur
Guest Editors

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Keywords

vibration
harvester
linear/nonlinear
electromagnetic
piezoelectric
magnetostrictive
hybrid designs
optimization

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 168 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters: New Ways to Scavenge Energy

by Hassen M. Ouakad

Energies 2023, 16(13), 5019; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16135019 - 28 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1261

Abstract

The need for wirelessly connected systems is heavily anticipated in today’s smart world since it is necessary for such a world to quickly transform into a global market through them [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters)

Research

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18 pages, 6564 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design of a More Efficient Rotating-EM Energy Floor with Lead-Screw and Clutch Mechanism

by Thitima Jintanawan, Gridsada Phanomchoeng, Surapong Suwankawin, Weeraphat Thamwiphat, Varinthorn Khunkiat and Wasu Watanasiri

Energies 2022, 15(18), 6539; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186539 - 07 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1808

Abstract

There is an interest in harvesting energy from people’s footsteps in crowded areas to power smart electronic devices with low consumption. The average power consumption of these devices is approximately 10 μW. The energy from our footsteps is green and free, because walking is a routine activity in everyday life. The energy floor is one of the most efficient pieces of equipment in vibration-based energy harvesting. The paper aims to improve the previous design of the energy floor—called Genpath—which uses a rotational electromagnetic (EM) technique to generate electricity from human footsteps. The design consists of two main parts of (1) the EM generator, including the lead-screw mechanism for translation-to-rotation conversion, and (2) the Power Management and Storage (PMS) circuit. The improvement was focused on the part of the EM generator. A thorough investigation of the design components reveals that the EM generator shaft in the previous Genpath design cannot continuously rotate when the floor-tile reaches the bottom end, resulting in no energy gain. Therefore, a one-way clutch is implemented to the system to disengage the generator shaft from the lead-screw motion when the floor-tile reaches the allowable displacement. During the disengagement, the EM generator shaft still proceeds with a free rotation and could generate more power. In our analysis, the dynamic model of the electro-mechanical systems with the one-way clutch was successfully developed and used to predict the energy performances of the VEH floors and fine-tune the design parameters. The analytical result is shown that the spring stiffness mainly affects the force transmitted to the EM generator, and then the induced voltage and power of the generator, thus, the value of the stiffness is one of the critical design parameters to optimize. Finally, the new prototype consisting of 12-V-DC generator, mechanisms of lead-screw and clutch, as well as coil springs with the optimal stiffness of 1700 N/m was built and tested. The average energy produced by the new prototype is 3637 mJ (or average power of 3219 mW), per footstep which is 2935 mJ greater than that of the previous design. Moreover, to raise the social awareness about energy usage, the sets of Genpath have been used to organize an exhibition, “Genpath Empower our Journey”. The people who stroll forward on the paths can realize how much energy they gain from their footsteps. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters)

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11 pages, 3251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Piezoelectric Smart Textile for Energy Harvesting and Wearable Self-Powered Sensors

by Ishtia Zahir Hossain, Ashaduzzaman Khan and Gaffar Hossain

Energies 2022, 15(15), 5541; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15155541 - 30 Jul 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2823

Abstract

Today’s wearable electronics have dramatically altered our daily lives and created an urgent demand for new and intelligent sensor technologies. As a new energy source, self-powering sensors are currently seen as critically important units for wearable and non-wearable textile–electronic systems. To this aim, this paper presents a smart textile-based piezoelectric energy-autonomous harvester and a self-powered sensor for wearable application, where the sandwich structure of the wearable sensor consists of top and bottom textile conductors, and in between the two textile electrodes there is a piezoelectric PVDF thin film. The generating voltage, current, charge, power, and capacitor charging–discharging behaviour of the device were confirmed using multimeter, oscilloscope, Keithley, etc., analyses. Finally, a piezoelectric-textile sensor was integrated into wearable clothes for breathing detection; a shoe insole for footstep recognition; and it can store energy by tapping, to power electronics, such as a calculator, timer, LED, etc., at a later time. The sensitivity of the sensor was enough for generating voltage from a tiny water droplet. Thus, we can assume raindrops to be utilized as a power-generating source on days when no sun is available to solar cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters)

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11 pages, 2810 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Inkjet 3D Printed MEMS Electromagnetic Multi-Frequency Energy Harvester

by Bartosz Kawa, Chengkuo Lee and Rafał Walczak

Energies 2022, 15(12), 4468; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124468 - 19 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1754

Abstract

Multi-frequency operation is an interesting and desired feature of electromagnetic energy harvesters. This work presents results of investigations on an inkjet 3D-printed miniature multi-frequency electromagnetic energy harvester. Vibrating microstructures utilizing springs with constant thickness (300 μm) and widths from 220 to 500 μm were designed, fabricated, and characterized as parts of the miniature energy harvester. Resonant frequencies of the microstructures were measured, and electrical parameters of the harvester were determined. The harvesters operated in the 85–185 Hz frequency range with 32 µW maximal output power. Thanks to flexibility in designing and fabrication by 3D printing, it was possible to develop an energy harvester with at least two operating frequencies within a single harvester structure in many possible two-frequency configurations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters)

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20 pages, 4363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design Optimization of Tubular Heat Exchangers for a Free-Piston Stirling Engine Based on Improved Quasi-Steady Flow Thermodynamic Model Predictions

by Dong-Jun Kim, Yeongchae Park, Tae Young Kim and Kyuho Sim

Energies 2022, 15(9), 3326; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093326 - 03 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3896

Abstract

This paper presents the design optimization of a heat exchanger for a free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE) through an improved quasi-steady flow (iQSF) model and a central composite design. To optimize the tubular hot heat exchanger (HHX) design, a design set of central composite designs for the design factors of the HHX was constructed and the brake power and efficiency were predicted through the iQSF model. The iQSF model is improved because it adds various heat and power losses based on the QSF model and applies a heat transfer model that simulates the oscillating flow condition of an actual Stirling engine. Based on experimental results from the RE-1000, an FPSE developed by Sunpower, the iQSF model significantly improves the prediction error of the indicated power from 66.9 to 24.9% compared to the existing QSF model. For design optimization of the HHX, the inner diameter and the number of tubes with the highest brake power and efficiency were determined using a regression model, and the tube length was determined using the iQSF model. Finally, the brake output and efficiency of FPSE with the optimized HHX were predicted to be 7.4 kW and 36.4%, respectively, through the iQSF analysis results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters)

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