Electromagnetic energy harvesting from flow induced vibration

A new electromagnetic energy harvester for harnessing energy from flow induced vibration is developed. It converts flow energy into electrical energy by fluid flow and electromagnetic induction. A finite element model for estimation of the generated voltage of the energy harvester is developed. A prototype of the energy harvester is fabricated and tested. Experimental results show that an output voltage of 10.2 mV(pp) generated when the excitation pressure oscillates with an amplitude of 254 Pa and a frequency of about 30 Hz. The values of the generated voltage based on the finite element computations agree well with the experiments. By detecting the voltage drop across a matched load, the instantaneous power is determined as 0.4 mu W under an excitation frequency of 30 Hz and a pressure amplitude of 254 Pa in the pressure chamber. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.