A dual resonant rectilinear-to-rotary oscillation converter for low frequency broadband electromagnetic energy harvesting

This paper reports a dual resonant rectilinear-to-rotary oscillation converter (RROC) for low frequency broadband electromagnetic energy harvesting from ambient vibrations. An approximate theoretical model has been established to integrate the electromechanical coupling into a comprehensive electromagnetic-dynamic model of the dual resonant RROC. Numerical simulation has proved the nature of dual resonances by revealing that both the rectilinear resonance and the rotary resonance could be achieved when the stand-alone rectilinear oscillator (RLO) and the stand-alone rotary oscillator (RTO) were excited independently. Simulation on the magnetically coupled RROC has also shown that the rectilinear resonance and the rotary resonance could be obtained simultaneously in the low-frequency region (2-14 Hz) with well-defined restoring torque (M-r) and the initial rotation angle of the RLO (psi). The magnetic interaction patterns between the rectilinear and the RTOs have been categorized based on aforementioned simulation results. Both simulation and experimental results have demonstrated broadband output attributing from the dual resonances. Experimental results have also indicated that the RROC could have wide bandwidth in a much lower frequency region (2-8Hz) even without the rotary resonance as long as the system parameters are carefully tuned. Parameter analysis on different values of M-r and psi are experimentally carried out to provide a quantitative guidance of designing the RROC to achieve an optimal power density.