Collaborative Research: Understanding and Harnessing Complex Dynamics of Coupled Mechanical-Electrical System for an Improved Vibration Energy Harvesting

该项目的目标是获得对能量捕获设备中的物理学的基本理解，其中振动能量被转换为电能。研究的重点将是通过制定一种综合方法来利用振动能量收集机制和捕获能量所需的非线性电路的复杂动力学，从而最大限度地提高这些设备的能量捕获。最先进的配方利用的非线性动力学的机械侧（与不切实际的电路）或电气侧（与简单的线性器件），但不利用它们在一个集成的方式。通过为设计和部署多模态、非线性能量收集系统提供准确的指导，这项研究将显著促进可持续微电子技术的发展，例如用于各行业结构、机械和生物监测应用的无线传感器。推广活动将与多元化服务机构合作，利用本项目开发的互动式能量收集系统演示器，吸引本地学生对科学和工程学科以及高等教育的兴趣。虽然振动能量收集变得越来越可行，但最近的研究结果表明，在高性能，可以实现高效能量收集系统并将其部署用于无数应用。通过实验研究支持的新的、有洞察力的分析公式，这些研究成果将指导能量收集系统的开发，使未来几代自给自足的微电子技术成为可能，例如多产的无线结构健康监测传感器网络，否则这些系统将依赖于不可持续的能源。研究工作将桥接器件平台动力学和电路制定的两个研究基础，以建立新的分析公式，以适应集体设备和电气非线性和多模态动力学。这将有助于深入了解他们的理想融合。实验研究将验证分析结果，并将调查新的压电能量收集系统确定的理论，设置电能捕获基准。

The goal of this project is to acquire a fundamental understanding of physics in energy capturing devices where vibrational energy is converted into electrical power. The focus of the research will be on maximizing energy capture in these devices by formulating an integrated approach to leverage complex dynamics of vibration energy harvesting mechanisms and nonlinear electrical circuitry needed to capture the energy. The state-of-the-art formulations exploit the nonlinearities in dynamics of either mechanical side (with unrealistic circuits) or electrical side (with simple linear devices) but do not exploit them in an integrated manner. By providing accurate guidelines to design and deploy multimodal, nonlinear energy harvesting systems, this research will significantly promote the development of sustainable microelectronics, such as for wireless sensors in structural, mechanical, and biological monitoring applications in various industries. The outreach activities will utilize, in coordination will diversity-serving organizations, the interactive energy harvesting system demonstrators developed in this project to capture local students' interest in science and engineering subjects and higher education pursuits.While vibration energy harvesting is becoming more feasible, recent research outcomes show that it is critical that basic research issues be addressed before a high performance, high efficiency energy harvesting system can be realized and deployed for myriad applications. Through new, insightful analytical formulations supported by experimental investigations, these research outcomes will guide development of energy harvesting systems that empower future generations of self-sufficient microelectronics, such as the prolific wireless structural health monitoring sensor networks that are otherwise reliant on unsustainable energy resources. The research efforts will bridge the two research bases of device platform dynamics and electrical circuitry formulation to establish new analytical formulations that accommodate the collective device and electrical nonlinearities and multimodal dynamics. This will facilitate rich insight into their ideal integration. Experimental studies will validate the analytical findings and will investigate new piezoelectric energy harvesting systems identified by the theory that set electrical energy-capture benchmarks.