Energy Harvesting Technologies in Mechanical Systems: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

This paper presents an extensive review of vibration-based energy harvesting techniques, encompassing theory, modelling methods, and realizations of piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic approaches.Addressing the crucial need for self-sustaining electric devices, particularly wireless sensor networks, the study tackles a significant limitation tied to random and broadband resonant frequencies.Researchers emphasize advancements in energy harvesters through material innovation and optimization, exploring nonlinear characteristics to widen the frequency bandwidth.The review comprehensively examines three main vibrationto-electricity conversion mechanisms, covering design theories, efficiency considerations, and potential applications.It delves into existing challenges and anticipates future requirements in energy harvesting.Additionally, the paper underscores the escalating importance of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) across diverse applications, emphasizing the major challenge of limited energy.The authors investigate efficient energy harvesting systems for WSNs, offering a thorough taxonomy of potential energy sources, discussing recent energy prediction models, and identifying challenges in developing cost-effective and reliable WSN energy harvesting systems.The study breaks new ground by investigating Zn-30wt.%Bialloy solidification under Electric-Magnetic-Compound fields, achieving a homogeneous structure through bulk solidification at a relatively low cooling rate.Physical simulations illustrate the EMBF's effectiveness in mixing melt layers and reducing droplet motion velocities.Furthermore, the paper conducts a comprehensive review of energy harvesting techniques for roadway and bridge applications, spanning various systems and comparing them in terms of power output, cost-effectiveness, and support.It highlights efforts in material design, system optimization, theoretical analysis, laboratory testing, field experiments, and numerical modelling, concluding with recommendations for future research in energy harvesting infrastructure.The paper concludes by addressing the global development of railways and their associated energy consumption and carbon emissions.With a focus on sustainability and the increasing demand for monitoring systems, the review explores advancements in energy harvesting technologies for selfpowered monitoring in railways, covering design, realization, comparison, and application prospects.Emphasis is placed on technical challenges, providing suggestions for future research directions in the field.

Topics & Concepts