Multi-physics optimisation of an energy harvester device for automotive application
ISSN: 0332-1649
Article publication date: 29 April 2014
Abstract
Purpose
Supplying remote wireless sensors is not an easy task if the site where the device is located is not easily accessible. In order to obtain direct measurements of the road-vehicle interactions, sensors must be placed inside the tyre environment thus a power supply must be available for their working there without any wire connection with the car main power. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
An electro-mechanical energy harvester has thus been developed for supplying an automotive wireless sensor of pressure, temperature and acceleration to be placed on the inner line of a tyre. The primary energy source is the vibrations or variable accelerations imposed to the device and induced in the tyre by the wheeling.
Findings
The harvester has been designed by means of a multi-physics optimisation based on an integrated electromagnetic-mechanical circuit simulator. Thus an automated optimisation of the device with respect to volume constraints, magnets dimensions, induction coils placement and size have been performed to increase the average power extracted from the device at different wheeling speeds.
Originality/value
The use of the multi-physics environment together with automated optimisation technique has been tested for the first time on the electromagnetic harvester structure.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was performed under a research project with Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. The authors would like to thank Dr Giorgio Audisio, Dr Federico Mancosu, and Dr Massimo Brusarosco from Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. for their enthusiasm and driving force in the project.
Citation
Bonisoli, E., Di Monaco, F., Tornincasa, S., Freschi, F., Giaccone, L. and Repetto, M. (2014), "Multi-physics optimisation of an energy harvester device for automotive application", COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 846-855. https://doi.org/10.1108/COMPEL-10-2012-0208
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited