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Harvesting energy from the vibration of a passing train using a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator

Harvesting energy from the vibration of a passing train using a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator
Harvesting energy from the vibration of a passing train using a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator
With the advent of wireless sensors, there has been an increasing amount of research in the area of energy harvesting, particularly from vibration, to power these devices. An interesting application is the possibility of harvesting energy from the track-side vibration due to a passing train, as this energy could be used to power remote sensors mounted on the track for strutural health monitoring, for example. This paper describes a fundamental study to determine how much energy could be harvested from a passing train. Using a time history of vertical vibration measured on a sleeper, the optimum mechanical parameters of a linear energy harvesting device are determined. Numerical and analytical investigations are both carried out. It is found that the optimum amount of energy harvested per unit mass is proportional to the product of the square of the input acceleration amplitude and the square of the input duration. For the specific case studied, it was found that the maximum energy that could be harvested per unit mass of the oscillator is about 0.25 J/kg at a frequency of about 17 Hz. The damping ratio for the optimum harvester was found to be about 0.0045, and the corresponding amplitude of the relative displacement of the mass is approximately 5 mm.
energy harvesting, train-induced vibration, time-limited excitation, transient vibration
0888-3270
785-792
Gatti, G.
04aa0da6-dff8-4094-a265-57c7253e74dd
Brennan, M.J.
7f39b4f4-810d-49d5-be90-1656c7b8069a
Tehrani, M.G.
c2251e5b-a029-46e2-b585-422120a7bc44
Thompson, D.J.
bca37fd3-d692-4779-b663-5916b01edae5
Gatti, G.
04aa0da6-dff8-4094-a265-57c7253e74dd
Brennan, M.J.
7f39b4f4-810d-49d5-be90-1656c7b8069a
Tehrani, M.G.
c2251e5b-a029-46e2-b585-422120a7bc44
Thompson, D.J.
bca37fd3-d692-4779-b663-5916b01edae5

Gatti, G., Brennan, M.J., Tehrani, M.G. and Thompson, D.J. (2016) Harvesting energy from the vibration of a passing train using a single-degree-of-freedom oscillator. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 66-67, 785-792. (doi:10.1016/j.ymssp.2015.06.026).

Record type: Article

Abstract

With the advent of wireless sensors, there has been an increasing amount of research in the area of energy harvesting, particularly from vibration, to power these devices. An interesting application is the possibility of harvesting energy from the track-side vibration due to a passing train, as this energy could be used to power remote sensors mounted on the track for strutural health monitoring, for example. This paper describes a fundamental study to determine how much energy could be harvested from a passing train. Using a time history of vertical vibration measured on a sleeper, the optimum mechanical parameters of a linear energy harvesting device are determined. Numerical and analytical investigations are both carried out. It is found that the optimum amount of energy harvested per unit mass is proportional to the product of the square of the input acceleration amplitude and the square of the input duration. For the specific case studied, it was found that the maximum energy that could be harvested per unit mass of the oscillator is about 0.25 J/kg at a frequency of about 17 Hz. The damping ratio for the optimum harvester was found to be about 0.0045, and the corresponding amplitude of the relative displacement of the mass is approximately 5 mm.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 28 June 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 July 2015
Published date: January 2016
Keywords: energy harvesting, train-induced vibration, time-limited excitation, transient vibration
Organisations: Signal Processing & Control Grp

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381760
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381760
ISSN: 0888-3270
PURE UUID: a4c261b3-ef64-4817-8392-3d111e08cc1f
ORCID for D.J. Thompson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7964-5906

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Oct 2015 11:10
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:53

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Contributors

Author: G. Gatti
Author: M.J. Brennan
Author: M.G. Tehrani
Author: D.J. Thompson ORCID iD

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