Introduction to

Vibration Energy Harvesting

NiPS Energy Harvesting Summer School
July 23-28, 2012
Erice, Italy


Francesco Cottone
ESIEE Universit de Paris-Est
f.cottone@esiee.fr


1
Summary
Why vibration energy harvesting ?

Potential applications

Vibration-to-electricity conversion principles

Performance metrics

Technical challenges and limits

Conclusions


2
Energy harvesting: an alternative to
batteries?
Batteries power density and lifespan are not unlimited !
3
Continuous Power / cm
3
vs. Life Several Energy Sources
0
1
10
100
1000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Years
m
i
c
r
o
W
a
t
t
s

Lithium
Alkaline
Lithium rechargeable
Zinc air
NiMH
Solar
Vibrations
S. Roundy, 2005. Berkley University
Can we replace or extend battery life?
What about disposal problem?
Electromagnetic: Light , Infrared, Radio Frequencies
Kinetic: vibrations, machinery vibrations, human motion, wind,
hydro
Thermal: temperature gradients
Biochemical: glucose, metabolic reactions
Nuclear: radioactivity
4
Power sources available
from the ambient
Energy harvesting: an alternative to
batteries?
Ultra capacitors
Rechargeable Batteries
Low power devices
Wireless Sensors
MEMS actuators
Consumer electronics
Piezoelectric
Electrodynamics
Photovoltaic
Thermoelectric
Wasted thermal energy
Electronic
device
Energy
Harvesting
Generator
Temporary
Storage
system
EM energy
Available power from various sources
5
Texas Instruments, Energy Harvesting White paper 2009
Brother Industries 2010
An average human walking up a mountain
expends around 200 Watts of power.

The most amount of power your iPhone
accepts when charging is 2.5 Watts.
Energy harvester as partner
of batteries to extend their
lifespan !!
Vibration energy harvesting versus
power requirements
6
An energy harvesting generator
must provide at least 100-300W per cm
3
of device volume

Vibration harvesting domain

7
Wind-up electrodynamic EH
Torch, Dynamo
Self-charging Seiko
wristwatch
Past Present Future
Battery-less wireless sensing (Perpetuum)
WSN Vibration, Temperature, Air pollution
monitoring
Cargo monitoring and tracking
Wireless bridge monitoring



Medical implantations
Medical remote sensing
Body Area Network
University of Southampton
electrodynamic energy harvesting
to run pacemaker and defibrillator
Swinburne University,
Australia, 2009
Applications of energy harvesting
Applications of energy harvesting
8
Wireless Sensor Networks
Almost 90% of WSNs applications cannot be enabled without Energy Harvesting
technologies that allow self-powering features
Environmental Monitoring
Habitat Monitoring (light, temperature, humidity)
Integrated Biology
Structural Monitoring
Interactive and Control
RFID, Real Time Locator, TAGS
Building, Automation
Transport Tracking, Cars sensors
Surveillance
Pursuer-Evader
Intrusion Detection
Interactive museum
Medical remote sensing
Emergency medical response
Monitoring, pacemaker,
defibrillators
Military applications and Aerospace
Applications of energy harvesting
9
Possible future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQRbz7z3xcg
10
Vibration
Harvesting
Generator
Magnetostrictive
Electrostatic/Capacitive
Piezoelectric
Electromagnetic
Ferromagnetic materials: crystalline alloy Terfenol-D
amorphous metallic glass Metglas (Fe
8
B
13.5
Si
3.5
C
2
).
Ferroelectric materials: PZT, PVDF, AIN
Vibration Energy Harvesters (VEHs):
basic principles
Example of macro-millimetric generators
11
Electrodynamic
Electrostatic/Capacitive Piezoelectric
Perpetuum PMG17
(England)

Up to 45mW @ 1g rms
(15Hz)
Mide Volture (USA)
5mW @ 1grms (50Hz)
Micro-electromagnetic generator
S. Beeby 2007, (UK)

Holst-IMEC (Germany)
Micro PZ generator 500Hz
60uW @ 1g
Imperial College, Mitcheson 2005
(UK)
Electrostatic generator 20Hz
2.5uW @ 1g

Microlab at UC Berkeley
(Mitcheson)
ESIEE Paris A. Mahmood Parracha
nPower PEG
12
State of the art: micro- to nano- generators
Zhong Lin Wang, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of
Technology.
zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires
200 microwatts at 1.5g vibration @150Hz and
charge an ultracapacitor to 1.85 volts.
University of Michigan (USA)
Nanogenerators produce
electricity from running
rodents
Vibration Energy Harvesters (VEHs):
basic principles
Direct force Inertial force
m
k
i
Piezoelectric Transducer
f(t)
z
R
L

d
m
k
i
y(t)
z
R
L

d
Inertial generators are more flexible than direct-force devices because they
require only one point of attachment to a moving structure, allowing a greater
degree of miniaturization.
Vibrations
Load (ULP sensors, MEMS
actuators)
Bridge Diodes
Rectifier
C
storage

Z
L

V
out

AC/DC
converter
Vibration
Energy
Harvester
13
m
k
i
y(t)
z
R
L

d
1-DOF generic mechanical-to-electrical conversion model [William & Yates]
Motion equation
Vibration Energy Harvesters (VEHs):
basic operating principles
y(t)
m
k
d
m
+d
e

x
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
m e
mx t d d x t kx t my t + + + =
0
( ) sin( ) f t my Y t e = =
2
0
2 2
2
( ) sin( )
( )
e m
x t Y t
d d k
m m
e
e |
e
e
=
+ | | | |
+
| |
\ . \ .
Steady state solution
setting d
T
=d
m
+d
e
the total damping coefficient, the phase angle | is given by
Inertial force
1
2
tan
T
d
k m
e
|
e

| |
=
|

\ .
/
n
k m e = and the natural frequency
( ) ( )[ ( ) ( )] p t my t y t x t = +
The instantaneous kinetic power
2
2 2
( )
( )
( ) 2 ( )
xf
e m n n
X
H
Y i
e e
e
e e e , , e e
= =
+ + +
taking the Laplace transform of motion equation
14
1-DOF generic mechanical-to-electrical conversion model [William & Yates]
Vibration Energy Harvesters (VEHs):
basic operating principles
the power dissipated by total electro-mechanical damping ratio,
namely ,
T
=(,
e
+,
m
)=d
T
/2me
n
, is expressed by
2 2
2
( )
diss T n T n xf
P m X m f H e , e , e e = =
3
2 3
0
2
2
2
1 2
T
n
diss
T
n n
m Y
P
e
, e
e
e e
,
e e
| |
|
\ .
=
(
(
| | | |
( +
( | |
(
\ . \ .


that is
At natural resonance frequency, that is e=e
n
, the maximum power is given by

2 3
0
4
n
diss
T
mY
P
e
,
=

or with acceleration amplitude A
0
=e
n
2
Y
0
.

2
0
4
diss
n T
mA
P
e ,
=

Separating parasitic damping ,
m
and transducer damping ,
e
for a
particular transduction mechanism forced at natural frequency
e
n
, the power can be maximized from the equation
2
2
4 ( )
e
el
n m e
m A
P
,
e , ,
=
+
when the condition ,
e
=,
m
is
verified
15
Piezoelectric conversion
Unpolarized
Crystal
Polarized
Crystal
After poling the zirconate-titanate atoms are off center.
The molecule becomes elongated and polarized
Pioneering work on the direct piezoelectric effect
(stress-charge) in this material was presented by
Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880
Piezoelectric materials
16
Piezoelectric conversion

Piezoelectric materials
Man-made ceramics
Barium titanate (BaTiO
3
)Barium titanate was the first
piezoelectric ceramic discovered.
Lead titanate (PbTiO
3
)
Lead zirconate titanate (Pb[Zr
x
Ti
1x
]O
3
0x1)more
commonly known as PZT, lead zirconate titanate is the
most common piezoelectric ceramic in use today.
Lithium niobate (LiNbO
3
)
Naturally-occurring crystals

Berlinite (AlPO
4
), a rare phosphate mineral that is
structurally identical to quartz
Cane sugar
Quartz
Rochelle salt
Polymers
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF): exhibits piezoelectricity
several times greater than quartz. Unlike ceramics, long-
chain molecules attract and repel each other when an
electric field is applied.
direct piezoelectric effect
Stress-to-charge conversion
17
Piezoelectric conversion


Costitutive equations
31 Mode
F
V
+
-
3
1
2
S = strain vector (6x1) in Voigt notation
T = stress vector (6x1) [N/m
2
]
s
E
= compliance matrix (6x6) [m
2
/N]
c
E
= stifness matrix (6x6) [N/m
2
]

d = piezoelectric coupling matrix (3x6) in Strain-Charge
[C/N]

D = electrical displacement (3x1) [C/m
2
]

e = piezoelectric coupling matrix (3x6) in Stress-Charge
[C/m
2
]
c = electric permittivity (3x3) [F/m]

E = electric field vector (3x1) [N/C] or [V/m]
F
33 Mode
V
-
+
3
1
2
Strain-charge
| |
| | | |
t
E
T
S s T d E
D d T E c
( = +

= +
Stress-charge
| |
E t
S
T c S e E
D e S E c
( ( =

( = +

18
Piezoelectric conversion


Material properties example
2
2
31
31
11 33
E T
d
k
s c
=
Electromechanical Coupling is an adimensional factor defined as

the ratio between the mechanical energy converted and the
electric energy input or

the electric energy converted per mechanical energy input
19
Piezoelectric conversion


Mechanical-to-electrical conversion models
m
k
i
Piezoelctric bulk (33 mode)
y(t)
z
R
L

d
y(t)
z(t)
M
t
Cantilever beam (31 mode)
R
L

i
strain
strain
L
V
L

h
p
h
s


V
p

C
p
R
p

R
L

Piezoelectric generator
At open circuit
31
1 oc
S
d h
V T
c

=
2
rms
L
V
P
R
=
The instantaneous power
delivered to the load is
simply
S. Roundy, Energy scavenging for wireless sensor networks, Kluwer
Piezoelectric plates
Piezoelectric layer
Subtrate layer
20
Piezoelectric conversion


Mechanical-to-electrical conversion models
y(t)
z(t)
M
t
Cantilever beam (31 mode)
R
L

i
strain
L
b
V
L

Piezoelectric plates
21
L
L c L c c
mz dz kz V my
V V z
o
e o e
+ + =

+ =

1 11 1 31 3
3 31 1 33 3
,
,
E
S
T c S e E
D e S E c
=
= +
31 2
31 2 0
/ 2
d /
1/
eff p
c p p r
c L p
K d a h k
h E k
R C
o
o c c
e
=
=
=
h
p
h
s
Piezoelectric layer
Subtrate layer
Av strain to vertical displacement

Input force to avg induced stress

1
2
2
3 3
2
2

(2 )
3 (2 )

3
2
2
2 2
/
2
12 12
b m e
b m e
b b m
p
s
b p s p b h
b p
I
k
b l l l
b l l l
k
l l l
h
h
b
w h E E w h
I w h b
=
+
+
=
| |
+
|
\ .
= +
(
= + +
(
(

L
e
L
m
Electromagnetic generators
The governing equations for only one-DOF model of a EM VEH can be written in a more
general form *
B
d
dt
c
u
= The Faradays law states
that
for a coil moving through a perpendicular constant magnetic
field, the maximum open circuit voltage across the coil is
oc
dx
V NBl
dt
=
N is the number of turns in the coil, B is the strength of the
magnetic field, l is length of a winding and x is the relative
displacement distance between the coil and magnet
Joon Kim, K., F. Cottone, et al. (2010). "Energy scavenging for energy efficiency in networks and
applications." Bell Labs Technical Journal 15(2): 7-29.
Where
2 2
0
/
/
/
z L
c z
c L e
e b
B l R
B l
R L
L N R h
o
o
e
t
=
=
=
=
Electrical coupling force factor
Conversion factor
Characteristic cut-off frequency
Coil self-inductance
RL

k

coil

z

Bz

Vibration

Moving magnet

x

magnet

L
L c L c c
mz dz kz V my
V V z
o
e o e
+ + =

+ =

22
Electromagnetic generators
Transfer functions
2
0
c c c
Z mY ms ds k
V s s
o
o e e
| | + + | | | |
=
|
| |
+
\ . \ .
\ .
By transforming the motion equations and into Laplace domain with s
as Laplace variable, considering only the forced solution, the
acceleration of the base being Y(s)
3 2
3 2
( )
( )
det ( ) ( )
det ( ) ( )
c
c
c c c c c
c c
c c
c c c c c
mY s mY
Z s
A ms m d s k d s k
mY s mY
V s
A ms m d s k d s k
e
e
e oo e e e
o e
o e
e oo e e e
+
= + =
+ + + + + +

= =
+ + + + + +
The left-side matrix A represents the generalized impedance of the
oscillating system. So the solution is given by
RL

k

coil

z

Bz

Vibration

Moving magnet

x

the transfer functions between displacement Z,

voltage V over
acceleration input Y are defined as
( ) ; ( )
ZY VY
Z V
H s H s
Y Y
= =
s je =
let us calculate the electrical power P
e
across the resistive load R
L
in frequency domain with harmonic input
with the Laplace variable
0
j t
y Y e
e
=
2
2
0 2
2
2 2 2
( )
2 ( )( )
e
c c
L c c
P
Y m j
R j m d j k j
e
o e e
e e e e ooe e
=
+ + + +
2 2 2
2
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2
VY
e e
L L
V j H j Y j
P p Y j
R R
e e e
e e e = = =
magnet

23
A general modeling approach
RL

k

i

coil

magnet

z

Bz

Electromagnetic
transduction

Piezoelectric transduction

k

i

Piezo bar or
cantilever beam

z

RL

Seismic mass

magnet

Vibrations

Parameters Electromagnetic Piezoelectric Description
o
/
z L
B l R
33 0
h C
Electrical restoring force factor
c
o
z
B l
L
R o
Conversion coefficient
c
e
L
e
R
L

0
1
L
R C

Characteristic cut-off frequency

L
L c L c
mz dz kz V my
V V z
o
e oe
+ + =

+ =

2
2
0 2
2
2 2 2
( )
2 ( )( )
e
c c
L c c
P
Y m j
R j m d j k j
e
o e e
e e e e ooe e
=
+ + + +
0
j t
y Y e
e
=
Joon Kim, K., F. Cottone, et al. (2010). "Energy scavenging for energy efficiency in networks and applications." Bell Labs Technical
Journal 15(2): 7-29.
24
Electrostatic generators
Operating principle [Roundy model]
Variation in capacitance causes either voltage or charge increase.
The electrostatic energy stored within capacitor is given by
2 2
1 1 1
2 2 2
E QV CV Q C = = =
0 r
A
C
d
c c = with
for a parallel plates capacitor
At constant voltage, in order to vary the energy its needed to
counteract the electrostatic force between the mobile plates
2
2
1
2
e
AV
F
d
c =
while at constant charge
1 2
2
e
d
F Q
A c
=
The maximum potential energy per cycle that can be harvested
max 2
min
1
2
par
in
par
C C
E V C
C C
| | +
= A
|
|
+
\ .
max
1
2
in
E V V C = A
with AC=C
max
-C
min
and V
max
which represents the maximum
allowable voltage across a switch.
25
Electrostatic generators
Operating principle (E. Halvorsen, JMM 2012)
The coupled governing equations are
Transducers
1/ 2
1/ 2
1/ 2
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
e
b L L
P
mx t dx t kx t F my t
q
V V
C x C
+ + + =
= +
+
26
where q
1
and q
2
are the charges on transducers 1 and 2,
respectively.

The electrostatic force is
where
g
0
is a gap between the capacitor, x
0
is an initial capacitor
finger overlap and N
f
is the number of capacitor fingers on
each electrode.

narrow bandwidth that implies constrained
resonant frequency-tuned applications

small inertial mass and maximum displacement at
MEMS scale

low output voltage (~0,1V) for electromagnetic
systems

limited power density at micro scale (especially for
electrostatic converters), not suitable for milliwatt
electronics (10-100mW)

versatility and adaptation to variable vibration
sources

Miniaturization issues (micromagnets, piezo beam)


Main limits of resonant VEHs
27
At 20% off the resonance
the power falls by 80-90%
Transduction techniques comparison
Piezoelectric transducers
provide suitable output voltages and are well adapted for miniaturization, e.g. in MEMS
applications,
the electromechanical coupling coefficients for piezoelectric thin films are relatively small
relatively large load impedances are typically required for the piezoelectric transducer to
reach it optimum working point.

Electrostatic transducers
well suited for MEMS applications
but they have relatively low power density, and they need to be charged to a reference
voltage by an external electrical source such as a battery.

Electromagnetic transducers
very good for operation at relatively low frequencies in devices of medium size
suitable to drive loads of low impedance
expensive to integrate in microsystems: micro-magnets are complex to manufacture, and
relatively large mass displacement is required.
28
Transduction techniques comparison
Wang, L. and F. Yuan (2007).
Energy harvesting by magnetostrictive material (MsM) for powering wireless sensors in SHM.
SPIE Smart Structures and Materials
29
30
Performance metrics
Possible definition of effectiveness
Beeby, S., R. Torah, et al. (2007). "A micro electromagnetic generator for vibration energy harvesting." Journal
of Micromechanics and Microengineering 17: 1257.
Power density
. El Power
PD
Volume
=
. El Power
NPD
mass acceleration
=

Normlized power density

What about frequency
bandwidth?
31
Performance metrics
Mitcheson, P. D., E. M. Yeatman, et al. (2008). "Energy harvesting from human and machine motion for wireless
electronic devices." Proceedings of the IEEE 96(9): 1457-1486.
32
Performance metrics
Mitcheson, P. D., E. M. Yeatman, et al. (2008). "Energy harvesting from human and machine motion for wireless
electronic devices." Proceedings of the IEEE 96(9): 1457-1486.
Bandwidth figure of merit
Frequency range within which the output power is less than 1 dB
below its maximum value
Technical challenges and room for
improvements
33
Maximize the proof mass m
Improve the strain from a given mass

Widen frequency response and frequency tuning
Actively and passive tuning resonance frequency of generator
Wide bandwidth designs: oscillators array, multiple degree-of freedom systems
Frequency up-conversion systems
Nonlinear Nonresonant Dynamical Systems

Miniaturization issues: coupling coefficient at small scale and power density

Improvements of Thin-film piezoelectric-material properties
Improving capacitive design
Micro magnets implementation

Efficient conditioning electronics
Integrated design
Power-aware operation of the powered device

Conclusions
34
90% of WSNs cannot be enabled without Energy Harvesting technologies.

Vibrations harvesting represents a promising renewable and reliable source for
mobile electronics powering.

Most of vibrational energy sources are inconsistent and have relative low frequency.

Scaling from millimeter down to micrometer size is important as well as further
improvement of conversion efficiency.

Efficiency improvement of Vibration Energy Harvesting technologies deal with:
efficient nonlinear dynamical systems,
material properties,
miniaturization procedures,
efficient harvesting electronics.

A precise metrics for effectiveness is not yet well defined





Thanks for your attention!
35
My research group in Paris
Prof. Philippe Basset, ESIEE Paris
Prof. Tarik Bourouina, ESIEE Paris
Prof. Dimitry Galayko, University or Paris 6, France
Francesco Cottone, Marie Curie Research Fellow, ESIEE Paris
Mohamed Amri, Master Student, ESIEE Paris
FP7-PEOPLE-2010 IEF
Marie Curie project NEHSTech
Bibliography
36

Priya, S. and D. J. Inman (2008). Energy harvesting technologies, Springer Verlag.

Mitcheson, P. D., E. M. Yeatman, et al. (2008). "Energy harvesting from human and machine motion for wireless electronic
devices." Proceedings of the IEEE 96(9): 1457-1486.

Roundy, S., P. K. Wright, et al. (2004). Energy Scavenging For Wireless Sensor Networks with special focus on Vibrations,
Kluwer Academic Publisher.

Williams, C. B. and R. B. Yates (1995). "Analysis Of A Micro-electric Generator For Microsystems." Solid-State Sensors and
Actuators, 1995 and Eurosensors IX. Transducers' 95. The 8th International Conference on 1.

Poulin, G., E. Sarraute, et al. (2004). "Generation of electrical energy for portable devices Comparative study of an
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Beeby, S. P., M. J. Tudor, et al. (2006). "Energy harvesting vibration sources for microsystems applications." Measurement
Science and Technology 17(12): R175-R195.

Zhu, D., M. J. Tudor, et al. (2010). "Strategies for increasing the operating frequency range of vibration energy harvesters: a
review." Measurement Science and Technology 21: 022001.

Wang, L. and F. Yuan (2007). Energy harvesting by magnetostrictive material (MsM) for powering wireless sensors in SHM,
Citeseer.

Joon Kim, K., F. Cottone, et al. (2010). "Energy scavenging for energy efficiency in networks and applications." Bell Labs
Technical Journal 15(2): 7-29.