Broadband energy harvesting via magnetic coupling between two movable magnets

Harvesting energy from ambient mechanical vibrations by the piezoelectric effect has been proposed for powering microelectromechanical systems and replacing batteries that have a finite life span. A conventional piezoelectric energy harvester （PEH） is usually designed as a linear resonator, and suffers from a narrow operating bandwidth. To achieve broadband energy harvesting, in this paper we introduce a concept and describe the realization of a novel nonlinear PEH. The proposed PEH consists of a primary piezoelectric cantilever beam coupled to an auxiliary piezoelectric cantilever beam through two movable magnets. For predicting the nonlinear response from the proposed PEH, lumped parameter models are established for the two beams. Both simulation and experiment reveal that for the primary beam, the introduction of magnetic coupling can expand the operating bandwidth as well as improve the output voltage. For the auxiliary beam, the magnitude of the output voltage is slightly reduced, but additional output is observed at off-resonance frequencies. Therefore, broadband energy harvesting can be obtained from both the primary beam and the auxiliary beam.     

线绳驱动转速提升式低频俘能器的设计与研究

俘获周围环境中丰富的低频机械能对减少废旧电池数量、实现自维持传感器、降低传感器网络的使用和维护成本等具有重要意义, 但传统的振动型俘能器对低频机械能的俘获效果不佳. 为了有效收集周围环境中的低频机械能, 本文提出一种线绳驱动、具备转速提升功能的电磁式俘能器, 首先借助线绳驱动转轴结构将低频振动转换为双向旋转运动, 再通过刚度自动改变的拨片和磁齿轮将双向旋转运动转换为转速更高的单向旋转运动, 从而提高输出功率. 对所提出的俘能器建立了机电耦合动力学模型, 并通过样机制作和实验测试证实了理论模型的正确性. 实验研究表明, 在激励幅值40 mm和激励频率2 Hz的条件下, 通过本文设计制作的2.5倍转速提升功能的磁齿轮, 可将线绳驱动电磁式俘能器的最大输出功率增加至7.82 mW, 比对应的无磁齿轮提升转速的线绳驱动电磁式俘能器的最大输出功率(3.22 mW)高约143%. 在相同的激励条件下, 制作的俘能器的交流电能经过桥式整流器转换为直流后, 可在1.2 s内将220 μF储能电容器的电压从0 V提升至1.5 V. 在低频、不规则的振动激励下, 所制作的俘能器仍可提供0.35 mW的输出功率, 为设计高性能低频俘能器提供一条可行的解决方案.      

静电力作用下的微梁失稳临界电压分析

针对微机械器件中普遍使用的微梁在静电力作用下的变形、吸附、电压与间距等设计问题,以平行板电容器为原型,利用弹性力学中的板梁静力学方程和静电场分布的拉普拉斯方程建立了微悬臂梁的机电耦合模型。将不均匀分布的静电力载荷等效离散为一组集中载荷,对小变形梁应用叠加法求解耦合模型控制方程,得到微梁失去稳定平衡状态的临界电压和梁的挠曲线。结果表明,电压增高,梁的挠度随之增大,达到临界电压时,梁末端的挠度与变形前的间隙之比为 0 42~0 44。     

原子力显微镜在轻敲模式下的动力学模型

基于Hamaker假设、Lennard-Jones势能定律及经典弹性理论建立了一种新型的球体与平面黏着接触的弹性模型，该模型显示黏着力在原子力显微镜(AFM)针尖趋近和撤离样品表面，即加载和卸载的两个过程中存在黏着滞后现象，表明了AFM在轻敲工作模式中存在能量耗散.同时，根据所建的黏着接触弹性模型，建立了AFM在轻敲工作模式下的动力学模型，研究了AFM在轻敲工作模式下的振动幅度、相位差及耗散功率随针尖与样品表面间距的变化规律，仿真结果与现有的实验结果相一致.     

Adhesive contact: from atomistic model to continuum model

Two types of Lennard-Jones potential are widely used in modeling adhesive contacts. However, the relationships between the parameters of the two types of Lennard-Jones potential are not well defined. This paper employs a self-consistent method to derive the Lennard-Jones surface force law from the interatomic Lennard-Jones potential with emphasis on the relationships between the parameters. The effect of using correct parameters in the adhesion models is demonstrated in single sphere-flat contact via continuum models and an atomistic model. Furthermore, the adhesion hysteresis behaviour is investigated, and the S-shaped force-distance relation is revealed by the atomistic model. It shows that the adhesion hysteresis loop is generated by the jump-to-contact and jump-off-contact, which are illustrated by the S-shaped force-distance curve.     

The dynamic characteristics of harvesting energy from mechanical vibration via piezoelectric conversion

As an alternative power solution for low-power devices, harvesting energy from the ambient mechanical vibration has received increasing research interest in recent years. In this paper we study the transient dynamic characteristics of a piezoelectric energy harvesting system including a piezoelectric energy harvester, a bridge rectifier, and a storage capacitor. To accomplish this, this energy harvesting system is modeled, and the charging process of the storage capacitor is investigated by employing the in-phase assumption The results indicate that the charging voltage across the storage capacitor and the gathered power increase gradually as the charging process proceeds, whereas the charging rate slows down over time as the charging voltage approaches to the peak value of the piezoelectric voltage across the piezoelectric materials. In addition, due to the added electrical damping and the change of the system natural frequency when the charging process is initiated, a sudden drop in the vibration amplitude is observed, which in turn affects the charging rate. However, the vibration amplitude begins to increase as the charging process continues, which is caused by the decrease in the electrical damping （i.e., the decrease in the energy removed from the mechanical vibration）. This electromechanical coupling characteristic is also revealed by the variation of the vibration amplitude with the charging voltage.