Design of a split-type core for magnetic energy harvesting

Magnetic energy harvesting from the overhead power line is an important technology, which can be used to power the wireless sensors to detect the line conditions. In this paper, a novel split-type core is proposed, which is placed under overhead power line to harvest energy. First, the equivalent circuit model of the harvester is established, and then the shape of split-type harvester core which increase the power density while keeping the volume of the core constant is optimized. Finally, an energy management circuit is built to provide a stable output voltage to the load. The experimental results show that the novel split-type harvester core through energy management circuit can supply stable 5V to the load when the magnetic induction intensity is 70.7 mu T-rms, the power density of the optimized split-shape core can reach 1151.3 mu W/cm(3), which is 5.1 times greater than that of the original shape under the same volume.