Optimization analysis of an energy harvester for smart tilting pad journal bearings considering higher vibration modes
André Rodrigues Garcia da Silveira, Gregory Bregion Daniel
Abstract
In the light of Industry 4.0, ambient energy harvesting has been used to substitute electrical batteries and power condition monitoring sensors installed on industrial equipment. In this work, piezoelectric energy harvesters are assembled to a tilting pad journal bearing in order to harness energy from its vibration. The main contributions of this work are related to the development of a harvester model excited by its tip considering n-vibrational modes, thus allowing the determination of how many vibrational modes should be used in the computational analysis in order to achieve a balance between precision and simulation time. For this, a test rig was built to simulate this harvesting condition and validate the mathematical model developed. Finally, an optimization analysis was made to determine the best number of harvesters that should be assembled to each tilting pad as well as their geometry, in order to maximize the energy harnessed from this component without impairing the dynamic behavior of the rotating machine. The results showed an improvement of 35% on harvested energy of the optimized bearing, which contributes to the development of an independent smart bearing applied to rotating machines, capable of monitoring itself without using an external power source.