Architecture optimization of electromagnetic energy harvesting

• Autor(a) principal: Carneiro, Pedro Miguel Rocha
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/38142
• topic: Energy harvesting; Electromagnetic generator; Magnetic levitation; Performance optimization; Adaptative architecture; Optimization tool

The importance of autonomous energy harvesting systems has been rising among the scientific community. These systems are seen as the answer for the dissatisfaction felt towards the actual energy harvesting devices. Different approaches to modulate, simulate, and analyse the mechanical and electrical dynamics of these transductors are described in the literature. However, no methodology has been proved effective in the optimization of these non linear generators’ performance, especially in what the occurrence of different excitations than the ones to which it was geometrically projected is concerned. The present thesis focus in the optimization of energy harvesting from the oscillations of magnetic levitation. The main goal of this work is to maximize the harvesters’ performance. This was accomplished through the development of a geometric optimization tool, by means of a sophisticated method that controls the levitating magnet’s dynamics for either a priori known or variable frequencies. Based on a model that analytically approaches the fundamental dynamics of these harvesters, the frequency, acceleration, length of the generator and mass of the levitating magnet(s) were varied. The optimal adaptive length was examined, which allowed a higher efficiency when faced with variations in the excitation patterns.