Modeling and experimental characterization of a fluttering windbelt for energy harvesting

Wind energy harvesters based on fluttering offer a valuable and efficient alternative to the traditional wind turbines. A longer life expectancy and cheaper fabrication is attained through the absence of gears or bearings. This article presents the theoretical and experimental study of a novel windbelt-based energy harvester, designed to harvest from continuously changing low-speed winds. A theoretical model is derived to explore the scaling effect on the critical flutter frequency, and experimental results validate the theoretical predictions.