Stochastic averaging for nonlinear vibration energy harvesting system

A stochastic averaging technique for the nonlinear vibration energy harvesting system to Gaussian white noise excitation is developed to analytically evaluate the mean-square electric voltage and mean output power. By introducing the generalized harmonic transformation, the influence of the external circuit on the mechanical system is equivalent to a quasi-linear stiffness and a quasi-linear damping with energy-dependent coefficients, and then the equivalent nonlinear system with respect to the mechanical states is completely established. The Itô stochastic differential equation with respect to the mechanical energy of the equivalent nonlinear system is derived through the stochastic averaging technique. Solving the associated Fokker–Plank–Kolmogorov equation yields the stationary probability density of the mechanical states, and then the mean-square electric voltage and mean output power are analytically obtained through the approximate relation between the electric quantity and the mechanical states. The agreements between the analytical results and those from the moment method and from Monte Carlo simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.     

Numerical optimisation of a classical stochastic system for targeted energy transfer

The paper studies stochastic dynamics of a two-degree-of-freedom system, where a primary linear system is connected to a nonlinear energy sink with cubic stiffness nonlinearity and viscous damping. While the primary mass is subjected to a zero-mean Gaussian white noise excitation, the main objective of this study is to maximise the efficiency of the targeted energy transfer in the system. A surrogate optimisation algorithm is proposed for this purpose and adopted for the stochastic framework. The optimisations are conducted separately for the nonlinear stiffness coefficient alone as well as for both the nonlinear stiffness and damping coefficients together. Three different optimisation cost functions, based on either energy of the system’s components or the dissipated energy, are considered. The results demonstrate some clear trends in values of the nonlinear energy sink coefficients and show the effect of different cost functions on the optimal values of the nonlinear system’s coefficients.     

FIRST-PASSAGE FAILURE OF PREISACH HYSTERETIC SYSTEMS

The first-passage failure of a single-degree-of-freedom hysteretic system with non- local memory is investigated. The hysteretic behavior is described through a Preisach model with excitation selected as Gaussian white noise. First, the equivalent nonlinear non-hysteretic sys- tem with amplitude-dependent damping and stiffness coefficients is derived through generalized harmonic balance technique. Then, equivalent damping and stiffness coefficients are expressed as functions of system energy by using the relation of amplitude to system energy. The stochastic aver- aging of energy envelope is adopted to accept the averaged It5 stochastic differential equation with respect to system energy. The establishing and solving of the associated backward Kolmogorov equation yields the reliability function and probability density of first-passage time. The effects of system parameters on first-passage failure are investigated concisely and validated through Monte Carlo simulation.     

Nonlinear vibration energy harvesting with adjustable stiffness,damping and inertia

A novel nonlinear structure with adjustable stiffness, damping and inertia is proposed and studied for vibration energy harvesting. The system consists of an adjustable-inertia system and X-shaped supporting structures. The novelty of the adjustable-inertia design is to enhance the mode coupling property between two orthogonal motion directions, i.e., the translational and rotational directions, which is very helpful for the improvement of the vibration energy harvesting performance. Weakly nonlinear stiffness and damping characteristics can be introduced by the X-shaped supporting structures. Combining the mode coupling effect above and the nonlinear stiffness and damping characteristics of the X-shaped structures, the vibration energy harvesting performance can be significantly enhanced, in both the low frequency range and broadband spectrum. The proposed 2-DOF nonlinear vibration energy harvesting structure can outperform the corresponding 2-DOF linear system and the existing nonlinear harvesting systems. The results in this study provide a novel and effective method for passive structure design of vibration energy harvesting systems to improve efficiency in the low frequency range.     

STOCHASTIC P-BIFURCATION OF TRI-STABLE VAN DER POL-DUFFING OSCILLATOR

分析了乘性和加性噪声作用下三稳态Van der Pol-Duffing振子的随机P分岔. 首先用随机平均法得到系统的随机微分方程,求得系统响应幅值的稳态概率密度函数. 然后应用分岔分析的奇异性理论,求得随机P分岔发生的临界参数条件,得到多种定性不同的稳态概率密度曲线. 讨论了2种激励噪声强度和系统阻尼对响应稳态概率密度曲线峰的个数、各峰值相对大小的影响. 通过Monte-Carlo数值模拟对理论计算结果进行了验证.该方法可用于其他系统的随机P分岔分析.     

Complex response analysis of a non-smooth oscillator under harmonic and random excitations

It is well-known that practical vibro-impact systems are often influenced by random perturbations and external excitation forces, making it challenging to carry out the research of this category of complex systems with non-smooth characteristics. To address this problem, by adequately utilizing the stochastic response analysis approach and performing the stochastic response for the considered non-smooth system with the external excitation force and white noise excitation, a modified conducting process has proposed. Taking the multiple nonlinear parameters, the non-smooth parameters, and the external excitation frequency into consideration, the steady-state stochastic P-bifurcation phenomena of an elastic impact oscillator are discussed. It can be found that the system parameters can make the system stability topology change. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified and demonstrated by the Monte Carlo(MC) simulation.Consequently, the conclusions show that the process can be applied to stochastic non-autonomous and non-smooth systems.     

Performance improvement of the stochastic-resonance-based tri-stable energy harvester under random rotational vibration

In this paper, the stochastic-resonance-based tri-stable energy harvester (TEH) is proposed to enhance harvesting performance under random rotational vibration. An electromechanical coupled system interfaced with a standard rectifier circuit driven by colored noise is considered. The stationary probability density function (SPDF) of the harvester is obtained by the improved stochastic averaging. Then, with the adiabatic approximation theory, the analytical expression of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the TEH is deduced to characterize stochastic resonance (SR). To enhance direct current (DC) power delivery from a rotational TEH, the influences of system parameters on SR is discussed. The obtained results suggest that there are damping-induced resonance and noise-intensity-induced SR in the tri-stable system. The TEH has higher harvesting performance under the optimal SR. That is, the optimal parameter combinations can induce optimal SR and maximize harvesting performance. Thus, the stochastic-resonance-based TEH can be optimized to enhance energy harvesting through choosing the optimal parameter.     

Nonstationary probability densities of system response of strongly nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom system subject to modulated white noise excitation

The nonstationary probability densities of system response of a single-degree-of -freedom system with lightly nonlinear damping and strongly nonlinear stiffness subject to modulated white noise excitation are studied.Using the stochastic averaging method based on the generalized harmonic functions,the averaged Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equation governing the nonstationary probability density of the amplitude is derived. The solution of the equation is approximated by the series expansion in terms of a set...     

Response analysis of nonlinear vibro-impact system coupled with viscoelastic force under colored noise excitations

This paper is mainly dealing with the stochastic responses of nonlinear vibro-impact (VI) system coupled with viscoelastic force excited by colored noise. By the aid of approximate conversion for the viscoelastic force, the original stochastic VI system is transformed into an equivalent stochastic system without viscoelastic term. Then, the equations of the converted system are simplified by non-smooth transformation, and the stochastic averaging method is employed to solve the above simplified system. A Van der Pol VI oscillator coupled with viscoelastic force is worked out in detail to illustrate the application of the mentioned method, and therewith the analytical solutions fit the numerical simulation results based on the original system. Therefore, the present analytical means of investigating this system is proved to be feasible. Additionally, the exploration of stochastic P-bifurcation by two different ways is also demonstrated in this paper through varying the value of the certain system parameters. Besides, it shows a noteworthy fact that assigning zero or a positive value to the magnitude of viscoelastic force can also lead to the bimodal shape of different degrees in the process of stochastic bifurcations.     

Stationary response of Duffing oscillator with hardening stiffness and fractional derivative

The stationary response of Duffing oscillator with hardening stiffness and fractional derivative under Gaussian white noise excitation is studied. First, the term associated with fractional derivative is separated into the equivalent quasi-linear dissipative force and quasi-linear restoring force by using the generalized harmonic balance technique, and the original system is replaced by an equivalent nonlinear stochastic system without fractional derivative. Then, the stochastic averaging method of energy envelope is applied to the equivalent nonlinear stochastic system to yield the averaged Itô equation of energy envelope, from which the corresponding Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov (FPK) equation is established and solved to obtain the stationary probability densities of the energy envelope and the amplitude envelope. The accuracy of the analytical results is validated by those from the Monte Carlo simulation of original system.     

Stochastic averaging of energy harvesting systems

A stochastic averaging method is proposed for nonlinear energy harvesters subjected to external white Gaussian noise and parametric excitations. The Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov equation of the coupled electromechanical system of energy harvesting is a three variables nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation whose exact stationary solutions are generally hard to find. In order to overcome difficulties in solving higher dimensional nonlinear partial differential equations, a transformation scheme is applied to decouple the electromechanical equations. The averaged Itô equations are derived via the standard stochastic averaging method, then the FPK equations of the decoupled system are obtained. The exact stationary solution of the averaged FPK equation is used to determine the probability densities of the displacement, the velocity, the amplitude, the joint probability densities of the displacement and velocity, and the power of the stationary response. The effects of the system parameters on the output power are examined. The approximate analytical outcomes are qualitatively and quantitatively supported by the Monte Carlo simulations.     

Potential benefits of a non-linear stiffness in an energy harvesting device

The benefits of using a non-linear stiffness in an energy harvesting device comprising a mass–spring–damper system are investigated. Analysis based on the principle of conservation of energy reveals a fundamental limit of the effectiveness of any non-linear device over a tuned linear device for such an application. Two types of non-linear stiffness are considered. The first system has a non-linear bi-stable snap-through mechanism. This mechanism has the effect of steepening the displacement response of the mass as a function of time, resulting in a higher velocity for a given input excitation. Numerical results show that more power is harvested by the mechanism if the excitation frequency is much less than the natural frequency. The other non-linear system studied has a hardening spring, which has the effect of shifting the resonance frequency. Numerical and analytical studies show that the device with a hardening spring has a larger bandwidth over which the power can be harvested due to the shift in the resonance frequency.     

Dynamic instabilities in coupled oscillators induced by geometrically nonlinear damping

The dynamics of a system of coupled oscillators possessing strongly nonlinear stiffness and damping is examined. The system consists of a linear oscillator coupled to a strongly nonlinear, light attachment, where the nonlinear terms of the system are realized due to geometric effects. We show that the effects of nonlinear damping are far from being purely parasitic and introduce new dynamics when compared to the corresponding systems with linear damping. The dynamics is analyzed by performing a slow/fast decomposition leading to slow flows, which in turn are used to study transient instability caused by a bifurcation to 1:3 resonance capture. In addition, a new dynamical phenomenon of continuous resonance scattering is observed that is both persistent and prevalent for the case of the nonlinearly damped system: For certain moderate excitations, the transient dynamics “tracks” a manifold of impulsive orbits, in effect transitioning between multiple resonance captures over definitive frequency and energy ranges. Eventual bifurcation to 1:3 resonance capture generates the dynamic instability, which is manifested as a sudden burst of the response of the light attachment. Such instabilities that result in strong energy transfer indicate potential for various applications of nonlinear damping such as in vibration suppression and energy harvesting.     

非线性振动能量俘获技术的若干进展

随着工程中低功耗电子设备和自供能无线传感网络的迅速发展, 使得振动能量俘获在航空航天工程、机械工程、生物医学工程和可持续能源工程等领域得到了广泛地应用. 振动能量俘获不仅可以将振动能转化为可用的电能为微电子设备供电, 还能减少有害振动保护仪器设备. 根据振动能量不同转换机制, 可以将振动能量俘获系统分为静电式、电磁式、压电式、磁致伸缩式、摩擦起电式以及它们的混合式. 其中压电和电磁振动能量转化机制由于结构简单、容易组装、能量转换性能高等优点, 已被广泛应用于各种工程领域中. 受极端环境干扰, 工程中容易出现宽带、低频等振动, 迫使振动能量俘获技术向非线性方向迅猛发展, 进一步吸引了诸多学者对振动能量俘获系统的结构和电路进行优化设计研究. 本文首先综述了非线性振动能量俘获技术近十年来的研究进展, 主要包括设计技术基础、非线性结构设计、动力学分析等方面的研究现状. 其次, 重点阐述了振动能量俘获与振动抑制一体化的主要研究成果, 包括非线性准零刚度和非线性能量汇在振动能量俘获领域的应用. 最后, 总结了振动能量俘获外接电路和主动控制策略的优化设计, 分析了进一步提升非线性振动能量俘获效能的有效方法.      

Identification of Nonlinear Oscillator with Parametric White Noise Excitation

An identification technique is proposed for a nonlinear oscillator excited by response-dependent white noise. Stiffness, damping and excitation are estimated from records of the stationary stochastic response. The estimation of the stiffness is based on a nonparametric procedure in which the potential energy at the displacement extremes is obtained from the kinetic energy at the previous mean-level-crossing. A nonparametric estimate is obtained by an iterative averaging, in which the increased knowledge of the potential energy in each step is used to avoid bias. The second step in the procedure is to estimate the stationary probability potential in a nonparametric form from a histogram of the kinetic energy at mean-level-crossings. The damping is also estimated in a nonparametric way from approximate expressions of the covariance functions of a set of modified phase plane variables at a given energy level. Finally, the excitation is estimated from a relation between the stationary probability potential, the damping and the excitation. The separation of damping and excitation requires a parametric representation. The system identification technique is investigated by application to response records obtained by stochastic simulation. The stiffness estimation generally gives excellent results, while the damping and excitation estimation tend to be slightly biased for systems with strongly nonlinear stiffness.     

Duffing-van der Pol系统的随机分岔

应用广义胞映射图论方法(GCMD)研究了在谐和激励与随机噪声共同作用下的Duffing-van der Pol系统的随机分岔现象. 系统参数选择在多个吸引子与混沌鞍共存的范围内. 研究发现, 随着随机激励强度的增大,该系统存在两种分岔现象: 一种为随机吸引子与吸引域边界上的鞍碰撞, 此时随机吸引子突然消失; 另一种为随机吸引子与吸引域内部的鞍碰撞, 此时随机吸引子突然增大. 研究证实, 当随机激励强度达到某一临界值时, 该系统还会发生D-分岔(基于Lyapunov指数符号的改变而定义), 此类分岔点不同于上述基于系统拓扑性质改变所得的分岔点.     

Vibration energy harvesting from impulsive excitations via a bistable nonlinear attachment

A vibration-based bistable electromagnetic energy harvester coupled to a directly excited primary system is examined numerically. The primary goal of the study is to investigate the potential benefit of the bistable element for harvesting broadband and low-amplitude vibration energy. The considered system consists of a grounded, weakly damped, linear oscillator (LO) coupled to a light-weight, weakly damped oscillator by means of an element which provides both cubic nonlinear and negative linear stiffness components and electromechanical coupling elements. Single and repeated impulses with varying amplitude applied to the LO are the vibration energy sources considered. A thorough sensitivity analysis of the system's key parameters provides design insights for a bistable nonlinear energy harvesting (BNEH) device able to achieve robust harvesting efficiency. This is achieved through the exploitation of three BNEH main dynamical regimes; namely, periodic cross-well, aperiodic (chaotic) cross-well, and in-well oscillations.     

Stochastic optimal active control of a half-car nonlinear suspension under random road excitation

The random response analysis and the stochastic optimal active control of a half-car model with nonlinear suspension stiffness and damping traversing a rough road are studied in this paper. The road roughness height is modeled as the output of a first-order linear filter to Gaussian white noise. Considering the hysteretic nonlinear stiffness and the square damping of the vehicle model, the response statistics of the nonlinear suspension with active control are obtained by using the equivalent linearization method. The performance indexes of the active suspension are evaluated and compared with those of the corresponding passive suspension. It is found that the nonlinear active suspension gives a better vehicle performances like ride comfort, suspension stroke and overall performance. Finally, the theoretical results are verified through Monte Carlo simulation.     

Stochastic P-bifurcations of a noisy nonlinear system with fractional derivative element

Acta Mechanica Sinica - This paper investigates the stochastic P-bifurcation (SPB) of a fractionally damped oscillator subjected to additive and multiplicative Gaussian white noise. Variable...     

Path integral solution of vibratory energy harvesting systems

A transition Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov(FPK) equation describes the procedure of the probability density evolution whereby the dynamic response and reliability evaluation of mechanical systems could be carried out. The transition FPK equation of vibratory energy harvesting systems is a four-dimensional nonlinear partial differential equation. Therefore, it is often very challenging to obtain an exact probability density. This paper aims to investigate the stochastic response of vibration energy harvesters(VEHs)under the Gaussian white noise excitation. The numerical path integration method is applied to different types of nonlinear VEHs. The probability density function(PDF)from the transition FPK equation of energy harvesting systems is calculated using the path integration method. The path integration process is introduced by using the GaussLegendre integration scheme, and the short-time transition PDF is formulated with the short-time Gaussian approximation. The stationary probability densities of the transition FPK equation for vibratory energy harvesters are determined. The procedure is applied to three different types of nonlinear VEHs under Gaussian white excitations. The approximately numerical outcomes are qualitatively and quantitatively supported by the Monte Carlo simulation(MCS).