A Pressure-Based Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Pipeline Monitoring Applications

This work presents modeling, simulation, fabrication, and testing of a novel flow-based electromagnetic energy harvester (F-EMEH) for producing usable electrical energy from the pulsating fluid pressure levels within the pipeline. The power produced by the developed harvester can be effectively utilized for the operation of the wireless monitoring system of pipeline networks. The devised F-EMEH harvester consists of a stationary magnet positioned in the upper cap of the harvester and directly facing the wound coil that is fixed to a flexible latex membrane. The membrane along the coil when exposed to the pulsating fluid flow in the pipeline oscillates with respect to the stationary magnet. This relative motion of the membrane induced the voltage across the coil terminals. The harvester when applied to a pressure amplitude of 625 Pa generated an open circuit voltage of 1.2 V and a maximum load power of 18.6 mu W when connected to 4.3 omega load. Furthermore, when integrated to a voltage rectifier, an open circuit output of 4 V DC is achieved by the device at a pressure of 625 Pa. In addition, with the developed prototype, a 3.6 V, battery is charged up to 3.2 V within 30 min of duration. The voltage and power levels attained by the energy harvester can provide an easy solution for powering wireless sensor nodes mounted on a pipeline network for condition monitoring.