This paper describes the design, fabrication and characterization of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) based piezoelectric energy harvester that scavenges energy from the movement of human limbs. It investigates the effect of a piezolaminated curvilinear shell structure on the power density of a wearable energy harvester through Finite Element Method (FEM) and experimental results. Curvilinear She...

Vibration energy harvesters scavenge energy from mechanical vibrations to energise low power electronic devices. In this work, we report on vibration energy harvesting scheme based on the charging phenomenon occurring naturally between two bodies with different work functions. Such work function energy harvester (WFEH) is similar to electrostatic energy harvester with the fundamental distinctio...

This paper presents a wireless sensor node (WSN) system where an electromagnetic (EM) energy harvester is utilized for charging its rechargeable batteries while the system is operational. The capability and the performance of an in-house low-frequency EM energy harvester for charging rechargeable NiMH batteries were experimentally verified in comparison to a regular battery charger. Furthermore...

The collection of clean power from ambient vibrations is considered a promising method for energy harvesting. For the case of wheel rotation, the present study investigates the effectiveness of a piezoelectric energy harvester, with the application of stochastic resonance to optimize the efficiency of energy harvesting. It is hypothesized that when the wheel rotates at variable speeds, the ener...

In this paper, we analyse and demonstrate an energy-harvesting generator powered by continuous rotation, using gravitational torque to enable a single point of attachment. The electro-mechanical behaviour of the generator is presented, alongside experimental results from an implementation based on a conventional dc motor. The off-axis performance is also modelled. The design and experimental re...

Energy harvesting from human motion addresses the growing need for battery-free health and wellness sensors in wearable applications. The major obstacles to harvesting energy in such applications are low and random frequencies due to the nature of human motion. This paper presents a generalized rotational harvester model in 3 dimensions to determine the upper bound of power output from real wor...

In this paper, a new hybrid routing protocol is presented for low power Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The new system uses an integrated piezoelectric energy harvester to increase the network lifetime. Power dissipation is one of the most important factors affecting lifetime of a WSN. An innovative cluster head selection technique using Cuckoo optimization algorithm has been used in the desig...

This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of an electromagnetic MEMS energy harvester with ultra-broad operating bandwidth. The beam stretching induced nonlinear spring stiffness enables the resonance to extend from 65 Hz to 340 Hz and 400 Hz at accelerations of 0.5g and 1.0g, respectively. The ultra-wide bandwidth could benefit the harvester device for more efficient vib...

1. Rehkugler, G. E., and S. D. Parsons. 1964. Sympos ium : Studies on the development of mechanical cabbage harvesters—Progress Report. Some physical properties of the cabbage plant and related harvester development. Paper presented at the winter meeting, American Society of Agri cultural Engineers, New Orleans,, La. 2. Wright, F. S., and W. E. Splinter. 1964. Sympos ium: Studies on the develop...