Bifurcation Analysis of a Bistable Nonlinear Vibration Energy Harvester with Elastic Boundary

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a novel bistable vibration energy harvester with an elastic boundary (BVEH_EB). The bistable nonlinearity of the BVEH_EB is realized by an inclined spring, which could induce a large-amplitude inter-well response to pursue high harvesting efficiency. The elastic boundary brings additional dynamic coupling with the inclined spring to reduce the depth of the potential energy well, which could enhance the inter-well response. The bifurcation responses in terms of different parameters such as the magnet mass, the inclined spring stiffness, the excitation frequency, and the excitation amplitude are numerically investigated. Abundant nonlinear phenomena, such as intra-well oscillation, inter-well oscillation, chaos, etc., are observed. The design guidelines of the BVEH_EB are developed, which could provide a novel harvesting method.