Alexandria Digital Research Library

Nonuniform buckled beam energy harvesting : experimental validation, modeling, and dynamic analysis

Author:
Van Blarigan, Louis
Degree Grantor:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Mechanical Engineering
Degree Supervisor:
Jeff Moehlis
Place of Publication:
[Santa Barbara, Calif.]
Publisher:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Creation Date:
2016
Issued Date:
2016
Topics:
Mechanical engineering
Keywords:
Piezoelectric
Energy harvesting
Mathematical modeling
Buckled beam
Dynamical systems
Genres:
Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
Dissertation:
Ph.D.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2016
Description:

Vibrational energy harvesting is a subject that has received much attention as a possible replacement for remote battery-operated sensor networks. We describe a vibrational energy harvester with an asymmetric buckled beam which is constructed out of commercially available components, and has demonstrated a significantly increased bandwidth compared to a device exhibiting linear resonance. This particular beam could not be mathematically modeled by existing analytic techniques, so a method is developed to produce a reduced order analytic model based on a finite element representation of the system. Moreover, we present an argument for why common single-mode Galerkin projection models are incapable of accurately reproducing snap-through behavior at higher than infinitesimal buckling levels. The model developed here demonstrates good agreement with the behavior exhibited by the experimental system around the parameter region of high power output, as evidenced by similar phase portraits and frequency response plots. Further, an argument is presented for why current trends towards testing non-linear systems with constant acceleration frequency sweeps are misleading, and an alternative comparison platform is suggested. The model is analyzed from a dynamical systems perspective, and it is shown that the transitions between high and low power output can be associated with a period doubling cascade or a boundary crisis where a chaotic attractor stabilizes through an intermittency transition. Chaotic behavior is observed to be closely related to the high power output region, but it is possible to have appreciable power output with a periodic response. Potential future work involves analyzing alternate beam configurations in search of an optimal solution to the high power output bandwidth problem.

Physical Description:
1 online resource (127 pages)
Format:
Text
Collection(s):
UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
ARK:
ark:/48907/f36m36w4
ISBN:
9781369146820
Catalog System Number:
990046969210203776
Rights:
Inc.icon only.dark In Copyright
Copyright Holder:
Louis Van Blarigan
File Description
Access: Public access
VanBlarigan_ucsb_0035D_13030.pdf pdf (Portable Document Format)