A Galloping Energy Harvester with Attached Flow Near The Zero Displacement Position

Interest in aeroelastic energy harvesters has grown substantially in recent years due to the potential for low maintenance and low cost energy solutions, particularly with regard to wireless sensors and microelectromechanical systems. The development of aeroelastic energy harvesters to date has focused mainly on the flutter of airfoils, the galloping of prismatic structures and vortex induced vibrations as a means to generate energy.

The work presented relates to a new geometry for a galloping energy harvester. Dissimilarly to the galloping geometries typically studied in literature, the flow is found to become attached on the rear face of the geometry as the velocity nears its maxima, hence acting more similarly to an airfoil than a bluff body. The behaviour is also found to relate to the interaction between vortex induced vibration and galloping.

The dynamics of a prototype device have been characterised experimentally with the use of a motion tracking system, while the flow structure generated around the device have been visualised with by smoke visualisation. The experimental results are compared to a lumped parameter model providing an insight into the underlying dynamics.