Performance of a 40mm Bladeless Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Driven by Rainwater
In this work,a 40 mm electromagnetic energy harvester is designed.It can be used for both turbulent air and rainwater.Experimental tests on air-driven harvester are first conducted to gain insight on the energy conversion process.Unlike conventional blade-involved systems,the present setup involves using a number of co-rotating compact discs.They are closely spaced and attached to a central shaft,of which a magnet is attached.With the injected air flowing into the system,the aerodynamic viscous drag force generated causes the discs to rotate and so the shaft.Thus the rotation of the magnet gives rises to the electrical power being produced due to the magnetic flux changes in the coil.As the air flow excitations are set to 4 different levels,the harvester response in terms of electrical power output is measured.The results show that approximately 0.3 Watt electricity is produced.The maximum electric current is about 45 mA.Parametric analysis is then conducted to highlight the effect of the system parameters,such as the disc number,diameter,exhaust flow rates and the inter-disc distance on its performance and to gain insight on its optimum design.A practical demonstration is then conducted by using the electricity generated to power two white LEDs.To gain insight on the aerodynamics,numerical simulations are then conducted by iteratively solving the mass,momentum and energy conservation equations.The miniature energy harvester is found to be much simpler in design,high power to weight ratio,lower cost in fabrication,and reduced visual and ecological impacts.Rainwater-driven harvester is finally tested.Compared with a similar‐size harvester driven by air flow,the 40 mm rainwater‐driven harvester is working more efficiently in terms of the overall energy conversion efficiency.
Wind energy electromagnetic bladeless harvester energy conversion rainwater hydropower
Dan Zhao C.G.Teo Chenzhen Ji Shihuai Li
Aerospace Engineering Division,Nanyang Technological University Singapore,Singapore 639798
国际会议
桂林
英文
1-15
2013-07-16（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）