Linear and Non Linear Energy Harvesting From Bridge Vibrations Available to Purchase

In this paper we analyze the performances of three different energy harvester configurations aimed at transforming vibration energy from a vehicle transited bridge. First of all we sampled the vibrations of a highway bridge in three different positions: at the entrance, in the middle and at the exit. Then, from the sampled time series, we reproduced the vibrations in the lab and tested the different harvesting configurations: low frequency linear piezoelectric energy harvester; high frequency linear piezoelectric energy harvester; non-linear bi-stable broadband piezoelectric energy harvester. The results are presented in terms of the RMS power converted. All the harvesters were built with the same piezoelectric material: composition and size were always the same.