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A novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole

A novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole
A novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole

Converting mechanical energy into electrical energy during human walking can power the portable electronic devices applied in navigation, gait monitoring, and biofeedback, etc. This paper presents a novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole to provide electric energy to portable sensors and small devices. The harvester mainly consists of a four-bar linkage, a one-way clutch, a propeller shaft, two bevel gears, a gearbox, and a brushless DC electromagnetic generator, which can covert the bending motion of the sole into the unidirectional rotation of the generator shaft. Then the generator will rotate and generate electrical energy (DC). A prototype is fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility and the practical application of the harvester, and the working principle is explained. The output voltage and output power at different walking speeds are acquired and analyzed. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the presented harvester works well and has considerable output power at human normal walking speeds. For a 72 kg test person, the presented harvester can effectively work at the walking speeds ranging from 1 km/h to 7 km/h with the average output power around 10 mW, which is high enough to power low-powered portable devices. The average power density is about 0.43 mW/cm 3, 0.42 mW/cm 3 and 0.2 mW/cm 3 at the walking speed of 4 km/h, 6 km/h and 8 km/h, respectively. Overall, this research may provide a new way and framework to design high-efficiency energy harvesters used for human motion energy harvesting.

Bending of shoe, Electromagnetic, Energy harvesting, High efficiency, Human walking
0306-2619
Wang, Suo
c9a3a09c-f142-4981-b148-465c100e8614
Miao, Gang
8836884f-5bea-482b-96f3-cccb2b59769e
Zhou, Shengxi
c9ad9a91-4e40-47bb-909c-dcc41dfa4d20
Yang, Zhichun
183f776b-fc81-4130-bd8e-5b777ee0d6c6
Yurchenko, Daniil
51a2896b-281e-4977-bb72-5f96e891fbf8
Wang, Suo
c9a3a09c-f142-4981-b148-465c100e8614
Miao, Gang
8836884f-5bea-482b-96f3-cccb2b59769e
Zhou, Shengxi
c9ad9a91-4e40-47bb-909c-dcc41dfa4d20
Yang, Zhichun
183f776b-fc81-4130-bd8e-5b777ee0d6c6
Yurchenko, Daniil
51a2896b-281e-4977-bb72-5f96e891fbf8

Wang, Suo, Miao, Gang, Zhou, Shengxi, Yang, Zhichun and Yurchenko, Daniil (2022) A novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole. Applied Energy - Elsevier, 314, [119000]. (doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119000).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Converting mechanical energy into electrical energy during human walking can power the portable electronic devices applied in navigation, gait monitoring, and biofeedback, etc. This paper presents a novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole to provide electric energy to portable sensors and small devices. The harvester mainly consists of a four-bar linkage, a one-way clutch, a propeller shaft, two bevel gears, a gearbox, and a brushless DC electromagnetic generator, which can covert the bending motion of the sole into the unidirectional rotation of the generator shaft. Then the generator will rotate and generate electrical energy (DC). A prototype is fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility and the practical application of the harvester, and the working principle is explained. The output voltage and output power at different walking speeds are acquired and analyzed. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the presented harvester works well and has considerable output power at human normal walking speeds. For a 72 kg test person, the presented harvester can effectively work at the walking speeds ranging from 1 km/h to 7 km/h with the average output power around 10 mW, which is high enough to power low-powered portable devices. The average power density is about 0.43 mW/cm 3, 0.42 mW/cm 3 and 0.2 mW/cm 3 at the walking speed of 4 km/h, 6 km/h and 8 km/h, respectively. Overall, this research may provide a new way and framework to design high-efficiency energy harvesters used for human motion energy harvesting.

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A novel electromagnetic energy harvester based on the bending of the sole - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 March 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 March 2022
Published date: 15 May 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 12072267 , 12111530105 ), the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (Grant no. JCYJ20190806153615091), the International Science and Technology Cooperation Project of Guangdong Province (Grant no. 2021A0505030012 ), and the Royal Society International Exchange 2020 Cost Share (NSFC) program with China IEC \NSFC\ 201127 . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords: Bending of shoe, Electromagnetic, Energy harvesting, High efficiency, Human walking

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 456580
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456580
ISSN: 0306-2619
PURE UUID: 15e5c32e-2caf-44f6-9968-90e0ec1ea980
ORCID for Daniil Yurchenko: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4989-3634

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Date deposited: 05 May 2022 16:39
Last modified: 23 Mar 2024 05:01

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Contributors

Author: Suo Wang
Author: Gang Miao
Author: Shengxi Zhou
Author: Zhichun Yang
Author: Daniil Yurchenko ORCID iD

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