Reducing detent force while harvesting energy from center of gravity: an 11-poles, 12-slots Generator Design

Abstract

This paper presents a flat linear generator with 11 poles and 12 winding slots for backpack energy harvesting. Analytical method based on magnetic vector potential and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is carried out to investigate the electromagnetic characteristics. An electro-mechanical model based on the linear generator is built. It has been demonstrated that, under the walking frequency of 1.95 Hz, the backpacker carrying a 25 Kg pack can employ this 1.5 Kg generator to harvest 8 W power. Moreover, 40% of the peak accelerative force is eliminated for the backpacker. Analyses performed demonstrate that the generator is a potential candidate for backpack energy harvesting application.