Predicting energy harvesting performance of a random nonlinear dielectric elastomer pendulum

Abstract

This paper investigates the energy harvesting (EH) performance of a nonlinear dielectric elastomer pendulum (DEP) under the random narrowband excitation. The DEP that can convert the vibration energy into electrical energy consists of a dielectric elastomer membrane with a mass, which is similar to a spring pendulum. A dynamic analysis model of the nonlinear electromechanical coupling behavior of the DEP under the random narrowband excitation is developed. A prototype of the DEP is designed to evaluate the developed dynamic model, which shows the good agreement. On this basis, the stochastic dynamic behavior of the DEP is analyzed by changing the intensity, the power spectrum density, and the upper limiting frequency of the random narrowband excitation. The EH performance of the DEP under the random narrowband excitation is also studied for diverse system parameters, including the length of the dielectric elastomer membrane, the mass of the DEP, and the load resistance. The conclusions can help guide the design of the DEP in the random vibration environment to improve the EH performance.