A piezomagnetoelastic structure for broadband vibration energy harvesting

Abstract

This letter introduces a piezomagnetoelastic device for substantial enhancement of piezoelectric power generation in vibration energy harvesting. Electromechanical equations describing the nonlinear system are given along with theoretical simulations. Experimental performance of the piezomagnetoelastic generator exhibits qualitative agreement with the theory, yielding large-amplitude periodic oscillations for excitations over a frequency range. Comparisons are presented against the conventional case without magnetic buckling and superiority of the piezomagnetoelastic structure as a broadband electric generator is proven. The piezomagnetoelastic generator results in a 200% increase in the open-circuit voltage amplitude (hence promising an 800% increase in the power amplitude).