Comparison of bistable magnetic non-linear piezoelectric energy harvester with traditional linear technique

In this paper, a piezoelectric energy harvesting device with bistable non-linear vibration combined with a switching-type interface (SSHI) are compared to the traditional linear technique. The voltage switching techniques are used to increase the output power of energy harvesting devices for low-coupled structures. However, these devices are efficient only at the resonance. The bistable non-linear technique can broaden the available bandwidth. We used the power flow and work-cycles to simplify the analysis of the non-linear vibration with switching techniques. Numerical simulations of the equivalent circuit of bistable device are shown. Finally, experimental results presented for the SSHI circuit combined with the bistable technique show more energy can be harvested and larger bandwith.