Nonlinear time-varying potential bistable energy harvesting from human motion

A theoretical and experimental investigation into nonlinear bistable energy harvesting with time-varying potential energy is presented. The motivation for examining time-varying potentials comes from the desire to harvest energy from human motion. Time-varying potential energy function of bistable oscillator with respect to the swing angle are established to derive the governing electromechanical model for harvesting vibration energy from the swaying motion during human walking or running. Numerical simulations show good agreement with the experimental potential energy function under different swing angles. Various motion speed treadmill tests are performed to demonstrate the advantage of time-varying bistable harvesters over linear and monostable ones in harvesting energy from human motion.