High-performance electromagnetic vibration energy harvester.

The Challenge

Electromagnetic vibration energy harvesting (EMVEH) is a modern technology that is found to be an outstanding alternative to the inconvenient employment of cables and batteries for powering sensor networks. However, typical electromagnetic vibration energy harvesters (EHMVEHs) are often bulky and costly, with relatively low performances. Therefore, novel harvester architectures that can produce high levels of electrical output power without compromising their volume or production cost are highly desirable. UPC have developed a solution based on a ring-shaped architecture with Halbach configuration which allows to increase the resonant mass of the system and reduce the coil resistance, resulting in a device that produces high levels of electrical power per unit of volume.

The Technology

The proposed harvester consists of three ring magnets (1) with a linear Halbach array configuration that concentrates their magnetic field in the inner space of the mechanism where a single vertically-centred concentric coil (2) has been located. The ring-shaped architecture of this device allows for an increment of the mass of the magnets (the resonant system) within a fixed dimensions of the transducer. It also reduces the coil resistance for the same number of turns, enhancing its power generation capability.

Innovative advantages

• Compact: the employed Halbach configuration concentrates the magnetic field of the magnets in the inner space of the device while decreasing it at its outer boundaries. This reduces the need for magnetic shields and allows to place electronics closer to the harvester, which decreases the overall size of the self-powered device while avoiding electromagnetic interactions with the environment.

• High-performance: it presents an elevated Normalized Power Density (NPD) value compared to different VEHs from the state-of-the-art, which ratifies its power generation capabilities.
• Simplified: few components and a simple mechanism that facilitates the assembly process and reduces the overall costs.
• High-sensitivity: advantageous for energy harvesting from ultra-low vibration environments..

 Current stage of development

Different numerical simulations and experimental tests have been performed to estimate and validate the output performance and feasibility of the device. The proposed EMVEH has been found to provide the highest NPD performance among various EMVEHs (for similar applications) with and without Halbach configuration.

Applications and Target Market

The device to be developed in EMVEH is found to be very interesting for companies that provide custom sensoring or IoT solutions for applications on transport infrastructures, smart industry and smart sport facilities, among others.