Amplitude reduction through energy harvesting in vortex-induced vibrations

Abstract

In this work, an identified electrical-mechanical model is implemented to describe complex behavior, such as upper and lower branches, and the piezoelectric coupling to harvest electric power in a 1DOF cylinder exposed to a transverse flow, presenting vortex induced vibration (VIV). A classical Van der Pol model was modified to represent the variations of Strouhal number and aerodynamic damping coefficient in order to represent the experimentally observed upper and lower branches. By comparing the numerical simulation with experiments presented in the literature the proposed model was validated. Then, the effects due to the electrical coupling were analyzed in terms of electrical power generation and the suppression of high amplitude oscillations. Results demonstrate the electrical coupling contributed to reduce the amplitude of oscillation. The results of this research can be helpful in order to design efficient energy harvesters based on VIV and can assist the development of strategies to suppress vibrations.