scholarly journals A Vibration Energy Harvester and Power Management Solution for Battery-Free Operation of Wireless Sensor Nodes

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 3776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Rodriguez ◽  
Valeria Nico ◽  
Jeff Punch
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Power Management ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Sensor Nodes ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Vibration Energy ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽  
Wireless Sensor Nodes ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvester

Electromagnetic Vibration Energy Harvesting (EM-VEH) is an attractive alternative to batteries as a power source for wireless sensor nodes that enable intelligence at the edge of the Internet of Things (IoT). Industrial environments in particular offer an abundance of available kinetic energy, in the form of machinery vibrations that can be converted into electrical power through energy harvesting techniques. These ambient vibrations are generally broadband, and multi-modal harvesting configurations can be exploited to improve the mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion. However, the additional challenge of energy conditioning (AC-to-DC conversion) to make the harvested energy useful brings into question what specific type of performance is to be expected in a real industrial application. This paper reports the operation of two practical IoT sensor nodes, continuously powered by the vibrations of a standard industrial compressor, using a multi-modal EM-VEH device, integrated with customised power management. The results show that the device and the power management circuit provide sufficient energy to receive and transmit data at intervals of less than one minute with an overall efficiency of about 30%. Descriptions of the system, test-bench, and the measured outcomes are presented.

Measurements of Car Vibrations Under Real-Life Driving Conditions and Assessment of Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Nodes

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Dompierre ◽  
M. S. Traore ◽  
L. G. Fréchette
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Sensor Nodes ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Vibration Energy ◽  
Vehicle Speed ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽  
Wireless Sensor Nodes ◽  
Driving Conditions ◽  
Continuous Power

This work presents a study of car vibrations measured under typical driving conditions to assess the potential of powering automotive sensors incorporated in cars via vibration energy harvesting (VEH). The locations where sensors or switches are currently used and the requirements of potential automotive wireless sensor nodes were used as criteria to narrow down the location of the measurements. A total of 20 locations were retained after keeping the sensors with lower requirements. Random vibrations due to the road perturbations as well as part of the structural responses of the vehicle from changing vehicle speed were observed through vibration peaks which shift in frequency and others which are steady despite the changing conditions. The spectral analyses indicate that most of the available vibration energy is in a frequency range below 200 Hz, with harvestable consistent peaks below 140 Hz on the front chassis, the rear and front plastic bumpers and the brake fluid tank. An analytical model is used to assess the power output from several linear harvester MEMS designs and we estimate that continuous power over 100 nW are achievable from those sources.

scholarly journals Power Supply Switch Circuit for Intermittent Energy Harvesting

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jun Jung ◽  
Saman Nezami ◽  
Soobum Lee
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Power Management ◽  
Power Supply ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Operation Mode ◽  
Vibration Energy ◽  
Storage Device ◽  
Sleep Mode ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvester

Energy harvesters generate power only when ambient energy is available, and power loss is significant when the harvester does not produce energy and its power management circuit is still turned on. This paper proposes a new high-efficiency power management circuit for intermittent vibration energy harvesting. The proposed circuit is unique in terms of autonomous power supply switch between harvester and storage device (battery), as well as self-start and control of the operation mode (between active and sleep modes). The self-start controller saves power during an inactive period and the impedance matching concept enables maximum power transfer to the storage device. The proposed circuit is prototyped and tested with an intermittent vibration energy harvester. Test results found that the daily energy consumption of the proposed circuit is smaller than that of the resistive matching circuit: 0.75 J less in sleep mode and 0.04 J less in active mode with self-start.

scholarly journals Vibration energy harvesting to power condition monitoring sensors for industrial and manufacturing equipment

2012 ◽  
Vol 227 (6) ◽  
pp. 1187-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C Waterbury ◽  
Paul K Wright
Keyword(s):  
Machine Tool ◽  
Condition Monitoring ◽  
Metal Cutting ◽  
Mechanical Vibration ◽  
Sensor Nodes ◽  
Vibration Energy ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽  
Wireless Sensor Nodes ◽  
Vibration Energy Harvester ◽  
Cutting Vibrations

To enable self-sustaining long-lasting wireless condition monitoring sensors, a small mechanical vibration energy harvester using electromagnetic transduction was constructed and used to harvest vibrations from large industrial pump motors and machine tool. The prototype harvester was roughly the size of a cube with 2.5 cm long sides. Power ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 mW was harvested from 15 to 30 kW water pump motors. For a machine tool, metal cutting vibrations and rapid jog events were explored as possible harvestable sources of energy. Power ranging from 0.9 to 1.9 mW was harvested during facemilling operations, and it was shown that rapid jog events could be harvested. The power levels harvested from the pump motors and machine tools are sufficient to provide the time-averaged power requirements of commercial wireless sensor nodes, enabling sensor nodes to overcome the finite life of replaceable batteries.

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