Tra Phan presented her work at a halftime seminar

Automatic Design Tool for Electromagnetic Vibration Energy Harvesters

An electromagnetic vibration energy harvester is a device that converts ambient vibration energy into usable electrical energy by utilizing the electromagnetic effect. It thus can provide a source of continuous and sustainable power without relying on batteries. Previous studies have proposed and investigated numerous electromagnetic harvester designs with the goal to achieve a high output power. However, these designs have manually been adjusted by experts to fit the desired application conditions.  This research focuses on developing a method that assists the design process of electromagnetic energy harvesters. As a case, we investigate a cylindrically shaped electromagnetic energy harvester, which has its center axis in line with the vibration direction. The design method utilizes optimization algorithms and complex models to automate the design process, and thus allows the user to identify optimal energy harvesting systems for given application constraints more easily and effectively. The tool takes resource constraints, such as the device volume and excitation conditions, into account, and then provides a list of promising configurations.