This book is a single-source guide to nonlinearity and nonlinear techniques in energy harvesting, with a focus on vibration energy harvesters for micro and nanoscale applications. The authors demonstrate that whereas nonlinearity was avoided as an undesirable phenomenon in early energy harvesters, now it can be used as an essential part of these systems. Readers will benefit from an overview of nonlinear techniques and applications, as well as deeper insight into methods of analysis and modeling of energy harvesters, employing different nonlinearities. The role of nonlinearity due to different aspects of an energy harvester is discussed, including nonlinearity due to mechanical-to-electrical conversion, nonlinearity due to conditioning electronic circuits, nonlinearity due to novel materials (e.g., graphene), etc. Coverage includes tutorial introductions to MEMS and NEMS technology, as well as a wide range of applications, such as nonlinear oscillators and transducers for energy harvesters and electronic conditioning circuits for effective energy processing.

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

With an explosion of the internet of things, energy harvesting provides an environmentally friendly solution to replace consumable batteries in powering wireless sensors. The goal of the research is to bridge a fundamental disconnection in the state-of-the-art understanding of dynamic, multiphysics interplay in vibration energy harvesting systems. In this spirit, vibration energy harvesting systems that integrate structural and electrical nonlinearities are examined to create knowledge on intricate dynamics when subjected to complex vibration environments. The revealed principles may build foundations for techniques to capitalize on synergistic dynamic responses and deliver sustainable robust DC power. In the dissertation, theoretical frameworks that synthesize the mechanical and electrical nonlinearities have been established to examine the intricate dynamics of the integrated nonlinear energy harvesting system. The proposed analytical formulations have been validated by experiments and present particular efficacy to probe the nonlinear dynamics and regulated electrical power, which may help guide the design and deployment of nonlinear energy harvesting systems under complex vibration environments. Moreover, the principles of impedance have been employed to scrutinize the energy transfer in the complex and nonlinear multiphysics network to shed light on strategies for maximizing the energy conversion efficiency of the integrated nonlinear energy harvesting system. The uncovered dynamical characteristics and optimal strategies facilitate insights on the suitable integration of sub-systems and assist in the development and deployment of high-efficiency and sustainable energy harvesting systems. The new knowledge on the system-level harvester implementation may also guide the advancements of other fields, where wireless sensor networks are possibly deployed, such as medical implantation, civil infrastructure health monitoring, and wildlife tracking.

This book presents a selection of contributions from the 4th International Conference on Structural Nonlinear Dynamics and Diagnostics, reflecting diverse aspects of nonlinear and complex dynamics. Fifteen chapters discuss the latest findings and applications in active research areas in nonlinear mechanics and physics. These includes the dynamics of ships with liquid sloshing interaction, dynamics of drops and bubbles, nonlinear drying processes, suppression of time-delayed induced vibrations, dynamics of robotic systems, chaos detection in rolling element, dynamics of a planetary gear system with faults, vibro-impact systems, complex fractional moments for nonlinear systems, oscillations under hysteretic conditions, as well as topics in nonlinear energy harvesting and control.

The vast reduction in size and power consumption of CMOS circuitry has led to a large research effort based around the vision of wireless sensor networks. The proposed networks will be comprised of thousands of small wireless nodes that operate in a multi-hop fashion, replacing long transmission distances with many low power, low cost wireless devices. The result will be the creation of an intelligent environment responding to its inhabitants and ambient conditions. Wireless devices currently being designed and built for use in such environments typically run on batteries. However, as the networks increase in number and the devices decrease in size, the replacement of depleted batteries will not be practical. The cost of replacing batteries in a few devices that make up a small network about once per year is modest. However, the cost of replacing thousands of devices in a single building annually, some of which are in areas difficult to access, is simply not practical. Another approach would be to use a battery that is large enough to last the entire lifetime of the wireless sensor device. However, a battery large enough to last the lifetime of the device would dominate the overall system size and cost, and thus is not very attractive. Alternative methods of powering the devices that will make up the wireless networks are desperately needed.

Kinetic energy harvesting converts movement or vibrations into electrical energy, enables battery free operation of wireless sensors and autonomous devices and facilitates their placement in locations where replacing a battery is not feasible or attractive. This book provides an introduction to operating principles and design methods of modern kinetic energy harvesting systems and explains the implications of harvested power on autonomous electronic systems design. It describes power conditioning circuits that maximize available energy and electronic systems design strategies that minimize power consumption and enable operation. The principles discussed in the book will be supported by real case studies such as battery-less monitoring sensors at water waste processing plants, embedded battery-less sensors in automotive electronics and sensor-networks built with ultra-low power wireless nodes suitable for battery-less applications.

The dependence on electrical power and the advancement of new technology devices has driven new research in the area of alternative energy sources. As electronic devices become smaller and more portable, the use of conventional batteries have become less practical. This has lead to an increase in the study of vibration-based energy harvesting and its use as an alternative source of energy. Previously, linear systems have been developed to harvest energy efficiently when the mechanical oscillator is tuned to the appropriate excitation frequency. This tuning requirement limits the application to a narrow bandwidth of frequencies and puts significant demand on properly designing the system to match a specific excitation. By incorporating nonlinearities in the design and analysis of energy harvesting devices, an increase in the performance of the harvester and versatilely of application can be achieved. This work investigates the role of non-linearities in the mechanical component on the performance of energy harvesting systems, and their advantages compared to a typical linear harvesting system. In particular, an energy harvester that incorporates a piezoelectric element as the attachment and exhibits strong non-linear behavior is analyzed through numerical and analytical simulations, as well as an experimental validation of the simulations. The harvester is subjected to an excitation of ambient vibrations of either a periodic impulsive or harmonic manner. Strong non-linearities are obtained by either the geometric design of the system or by attaching non-linear springs to the primary mass of a spring-mass-damper system. Under certain operating conditions, the resulting unique dynamic behavior of the non-linear system increases the efficiency in comparison to a single degree-of-freedom linear energy harvester. The use of strongly non-linear energy harvesters as vibration absorbers was also investigated. Vibration absorbers have been shown to be efficient over a wide bandwidth of frequencies when multiple non-linear masses are attached to the primary mass of a linear oscillator. In this work, the conventional vibration absorber described by [21], is enhanced by the insertion of an energy harvester in series with with the non-linear spring. The results indicate an increase in the efficiency of the vibration absorber, while simultaneously creating a proficient energy harvester.

"Harnessing Chaos: Nonlinear Dynamics in Integrated Energy Harvesting Systems" delves into a new frontier of energy harvesting technology. The title uses "chaos" to represent the complex and unpredictable behavior that can occur in nonlinear systems, which are those where the output is not directly proportional to the input. The book explores how this very characteristic of chaos can be harnessed to improve energy harvesting systems that integrate multiple sources. These integrated systems, combining piezoelectric materials with other energy harvesting techniques like solar or wind power, can potentially become more efficient by exploiting nonlinear dynamics. The book equips engineers and researchers with the knowledge to design and optimize such systems, considering the nonlinear interactions between the different harvesting methods. By understanding and harnessing chaos, researchers can develop more robust and adaptable energy harvesting solutions for a sustainable future. This book is ideal for engineers, physicists, and researchers at the forefront of energy harvesting technologies.

This monograph evolved over a period of nine years from a series of papers and presentations addressing the subject of passive vibration control of mechanical s- tems subjected to broadband, transient inputs. The unifying theme is Targeted - ergy Transfer – TET, which represents a new and unique approach to the passive control problem, in which a strongly nonlinear, fully passive, local attachment, the Nonlinear Energy Sink – NES, is employed to drastically alter the dynamics of the primary system to which it is attached. The intrinsic capacity of the properly - signed NES to promote rapid localization of externally applied (narrowband) - bration or (broadband) shock energy to itself, where it can be captured and dis- pated, provides a powerful strategy for vibration control and the opens the pos- bility for a wide range of applications of TET, such as, vibration and shock i- lation, passive energy harvesting, aeroelastic instability (?utter) suppression, se- mic mitigation, vortex shedding control, enhanced reliability designs (for ex- ple in power grids) and others. The monograph is intended to provide a thorough explanation of the analytical, computational and experimental methods needed to formulate and study TET in mechanical and structural systems. Several prac- cal engineering applications are examined in detail, and experimental veri?cation and validation of the theoretical predictions are provided as well. The authors also suggest a number of possible future applications where application of TET seems promising. The authors are indebted to a number of sponsoring agencies.

Advances in Energy Harvesting Methods presents a state-of-the-art understanding of diverse aspects of energy harvesting with a focus on: broadband energy conversion, new concepts in electronic circuits, and novel materials. This book covers recent advances in energy harvesting using different transduction mechanisms; these include methods of performance enhancement using nonlinear effects, non-harmonic forms of excitation and non-resonant energy harvesting, fluidic energy harvesting, and advances in both low-power electronics as well as material science. The contributors include a brief literature review of prior research with each chapter for further reference.