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Microenergy harvesting applications for outdoor power equipment

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Abstract

An energy harvesting system designed in this paper is of electromagnetic linear-motion inertial type that is capable of converting kinetic energy into useful electrical energy. The harvester consists of moving magnet–iron poles enclosed by cylindrical coils and an iron stator, and two stationary magnets are placed at both end sides acting as spring. The developed energy harvester is to be used for outdoor power equipment such as lawnmower and snow blower. Preliminary vibrational analysis is conducted on the lawnmower and snow blower to determine its working frequency and the optimal point of vibration. It was determined that the lawnmower resonated at a frequency of 15 Hz while the snow blower resonated at 21 Hz. Two methods are used to tune the energy harvesting system. The first is changing the stationary magnet thickness while keeping the magnet air gap constant and second is changing the air gap while keeping the stationary magnet thickness constant. We found that it is optimal to change the air gap rather than the magnet thickness to change the natural frequency of the device. The energy harvesting system is tuned to work on a lawnmower where the natural frequency is 15 Hz. Natural frequency of 15 Hz is obtained when the magnet thickness is 9.525 mm and a gap of 70.75 mm, where the maximum power dissipated is 29 mW.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Prof. A. Salehian in Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Waterloo for providing the shaker.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Pratik Patel & Mir Behrad Khamesee

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  1. Pratik Patel
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  2. Mir Behrad Khamesee
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Correspondence to Mir Behrad Khamesee.

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Patel, P., Khamesee, M.B. Microenergy harvesting applications for outdoor power equipment. Microsyst Technol 20, 1715–1722 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-014-2213-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-014-2213-9

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