Comparisons of Electromagnetic Transducers for Rotational Energy Harvesting

Abstract

This paper presents comparisons of six electromagnetic transducers for rotational energy harvesting, i.e. vertically alternating, 6-pole vertical Halbach array, 8-pole vertical Halbach array, radially alternating, 4-pole radial Halbach array and 6-pole radial Halbach array. Static magnetic simulation carried out in Maxwell shows that Halbach array is able to enhance the magnetic field strength in specific areas. However, in order to improve the output power of the energy harvester, the pole distance in the magnetic arrangement should also be minimized to increase the magnetic field strength gradient. It was concluded that radially magnetized transducers can reduce the overall volume of the energy harvester while the vertically magnetized transducers have the potential to generate higher output power.