Simulation of a High Compliant Micro Electromagnetic Generator for Energy Harvesting

This paper describes modeling and simulation of a micro electromagnetic generator for vibration energy harvesting. High compliant diaphragms, including cantilever and spiral, are characterized by using CoventorWare (TM) on the vibration frequency and amplitude. Simulation results show that a spiral diaphragm has higher compliance and lower resonant frequency than a cantilever diaphragm. The generator with proof mass on this diaphragm has larger vibration amplitude, and it generates higher power output at a lower frequency. The compact generator occupies a volume of 10 x5.5x1 mm(3), and is compatible with MEMS fabrication techniques. Based on the Faraday's law of induction, the spiral diaphragm with proof mass provides large rate of change of the magnetic flux. The generator can generate electromotive force at a vibration frequency of 13.95 Hz and amplitude of 1306.88 gm under 1g acceleration with high energy conversion efficiency.