Energy Harvesting from a Cantilever Beam with Geometric Nonlinearity Subjected to a Moving Mass

With onset of the twenty-first century, the earth is converted into a smart world in no time due to advancements in technology like the internet of things, wireless sensor network, and microelectromechanical system. Mobile energy source is highly essential to power these devices. However, the vibration energy harvester extracts the electrical energy from the mechanical vibratory system to fulfill the need for power requirements. The present study assesses the effect of geometrical nonlinearity of beam due to the occurrence of large deformation under the excitation of moving load. As an endeavor, the nonlinear analysis of the cantilever beam bonded with piezo-patch in the field of energy harvesting under the desired condition is examined. The desired basic formulation is based on the finite element approach. Hamilton's principle is incorporated to derive the equation of motion of the system. Further, Newmark's integration method is adopted to study the behavior of moving load. To solve the nonlinear set of equations Newton-Raphson method is successfully implemented. It is concluded from the analysis that with low speed and high moving force the power output is more. A decreasing trend is observed in displacement due to geometric nonlinearity which results in low voltage and power generation as compared to linear energy harvester. Later real coded genetic algorithm is successfully implemented to obtain the desired design parameter values for optimal power output.