A Novel Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Based on Double-Ring Core for Power Line Energy Harvesting

Abstract

A novel electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH) based on double-ring core for power line energy harvesting is proposed in this paper. Due to large magnetic reluctance caused by the inherent air gap at the opening of core, the magnetic flux leakage in magnetic core severely limits the output power of EMEH. A double-ring core with lower magnetic flux leakage is developed. The internal magnetic reluctance of the double-ring core is reduced by changing the distribution of the air gap with a fixed volume. The simulation results show that the double-ring core can produce the highest average magnetic induction, which is 2.42 times, 1.82 times and 1.7 times that of the single-ring opening, stepped opening and V-shaped opening, respectively. In order to improve the output performance of the EMEH, the resonance matching is used for the power management. The power management unit through the resonant matching can increase the acquisition efficiency by 2.23 times and achieve a maximum output power of 32.78[Formula: see text]mW at a 10[Formula: see text]A current across the power line. The EMEH can drive a low-power wireless node operating for 29[Formula: see text]min. A valuable solution is provided for high-efficiency self-powered systems in smart applications.