Performance of a bistable flow-energy harvester based on vortex-induced vibration

Abstract As a key form of wind-induced energy acquisition, vortex-induced vibration (VIV) can only produce a large amplitude when resonance response occurs, which limits its application. This paper describes a novel bistable piezoelectric energy harvester prone to snap-through events that absorbing wind energy from the environment. VIV is used to trigger the switching of this bistable structure between different stable states. At this time, a large energy output can be generated due to the large deflection and local high-frequency vibration accompanied by this process. The characteristics of the proposed harvester are experimentally tested in the wind speed range of 2.5–8.5 m/s, and a maximum output voltage of 13.68 V is obtained at the wind speed of 8.5 m/s. With the increase of the external resistance value from 47 to 1 MΩ, the maximum output power of 4.216 mW is obtained at the resistance value of 47 kΩ and wind speed of 8.5 m/s.