A hybrid piezoelectric and electromagnetic energy harvester for harvesting fluid energy in a pipeline

Abstract

The power supply issue of flow velocity sensors is a major obstacle limiting their widespread application in fields such as remote environmental monitoring and industrial process control. This paper introduces a hybrid piezoelectric and electromagnetic energy harvester for harvesting fluid energy in a pipeline (F-HEH). F-HEH mainly comprises two parts: a self-powered module and a self-sensing module. Experimental results indicate that when the rotor is equipped with 15 blades and the PEH is connected in series, the F-HEH system achieves optimal output performance, with the maximum root mean square power reaching 124.3 mW. Following performance testing, F-HEH was demonstrated to enable hydrogen production through water electrolysis. By leveraging the inherent properties of F-HEH, an energy storage and utilization circuit can be constructed to provide a continuous power supply for lithium batteries. The coefficient of determination (R²) reaches 0.97494 when fitting the relationship between water flow speeds and corresponding voltage frequencies. This proves that F-HEH also has a self-sensing function. This research proposes an innovative approach for energy harvesting and flow velocity monitoring in fluid pipelines, contributing to the advancement of intelligent fluid monitoring systems.