Modeling Investigation of a Nonlinear Vibrational Energy Harvester

In last years the authors have investigated nonlinear systems for vibrational energy harvesting. Nonlinear configurations have been demonstrated that, under the proper conditions, can provide better performance, compared to linear resonant oscillators, in terms of the amount of energy extracted from environmental wide spectrum mechanical vibrations. In particular, the authors presented the results of investigations on a system exploiting the advantages of a nonlinear bistable Snap-Through-Buckling (STB) configuration and two piezoelectric transducers placed at the locations of the two stable states (the position of the two minima of the bistable potential underpinning the dynamics of the system). The device investigated was shown to be capable of providing sufficient electrical energy to power an RF transmitter. However, in order to properly design the harvester an analytical model is necessary. The authors are investigating different nonlinear models. In this work, a comparison between two different theoretical models for the STB beam is discussed.