This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9057, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

Inherent nonlinearities of piezoelectric materials are inevitably pronounced in various engineering applications such as sensing, actuation, their combined applications for vibration control, and most recently, energy harvesting from dynamical systems. The existing literature focusing on the dynamics of electroelastic structures made of piezoelectric materials have explored such nonlinearities in a disconnected way for the separate problems of mechanical and electrical excitation such that nonlinear resonance trends have been assumed to be due to different additional terms in constitutive equations by different researchers. Similar manifestations of softening nonlinearities have been attributed to purely elastic nonlinear terms, coupling nonlinearities, hysteresis, or a combination of these effects, by various authors. However, a reliable nonlinear constitutive equation for a given piezoelectric material is expected to be rather unique and valid regardless of the application, e.g. energy harvesting, sensing, or actuation. A systematic approach focusing on the two-way coupling can result in a sound mathematical framework. To this end, the present work investigates the nonlinear dynamic behavior of a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever under low-to-high mechanical and electrical excitation levels in energy harvesting, sensing, and actuation. A physical model is proposed including both ferroelastic hysteresis, stiffness, and electromechanical coupling nonlinearities. A lumped parameter electroelastic model is developed by accounting for these nonlinearities to analyze the primary resonance of a cantilever using the method of harmonic balance. Strong agreement between the model and experimental investigation is found, providing solid evidence that the the dominant source of observed softening nonlinear effects in geometrically linear piezolectric cantilever beams is well represented by a quadratic term resulting from ferroelastic hysteresis. Electromechanical coupling and cubic softening nonlinearities are observed to become effective only near the physical limits of the brittle and stiff bimorph cantilever used in the experiments, revealing that the quadratic nonlinearity associated with hysteresis has the primary role in nonlinear nonconservative dynamic behavior.

Vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric material is a promising solution for powering small electric devices, which has attracted great research interest in recent years. Numerous efforts have been done by researchers to improve the efficiency of vibration energy harvesters and to broaden their bandwidths. In most reported literature, harvesters are designed to harvest energy from vibration source with a specific excitation direction. However, a practical environmental vibration source may include multiple components from different directions. Thus, it is an important concern to design a vibration energy harvester to be adaptive to multiple excitation directions. In this article, a novel piezoelectric energy harvester with frame configuration is proposed to address this issue. It can work either in its vertical vibration mode or horizontal vibration mode. Therefore, the harvester can capture vibration energy from arbitrary directions in a twodimensional plane. Experimental studies are carried out to prove the feasibility for multiple-direction energy harvesting using such harvester. The development of this two-dimensional energy harvester indicates its promising potential in practical vibration scenarios.

Sufficient power supply to run GPS machinery and transmit data on a long-term basis remains to be the key challenge for wildlife tracking technology. Traditional way of replacing battery periodically is not only time and money consuming but also dangerous to live-trapping wild animals. In this paper, an innovative wildlife tracking device with multi-source energy harvester with advantage of high efficiency and reliability is investigated and developed. This multi-source energy harvester entails a solar energy harvester and an innovative rotational electromagnetic energy harvester is mounted on the “wildlife tracking collar” which will remarkably extend the duration of wild life tracking. A feedforward and feedback control of DC-DC converter circuit is adopted to passively realize the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) logic for the solar energy harvester. The rotational electromagnetic energy harvester can mechanically rectify the irregular bidirectional motion into unidirectional motion has been modeled and demonstrated.

Recent work has demonstrated efficient transformation of structure-borne propagating waves into low-power electricity using metamaterial-inspired mirror configurations. Elastoacoustic waves (i) originating from a point source and (ii) arriving as plane waves have been successfully focused on a piezoelectric energy harvester using elliptical and parabolic mirror concepts, respectively. Our present work investigates the spatial optimization of a piezoelectric energy harvester domain weakly coupled to a thin plate housing an elastoacoustic mirror (or lens). Mirrors considered include elliptical arrangements of periodic stubs, and an elliptical arrangement of continuous material. Spatial and temporal transformation of the wave propagation field into the frequency- wavenumber domain is performed in order to identify the wavenumber content inside the mirror. A frequency- domain root-mean-square (RMS) evaluation is then applied to the transformed field in order to extract the preferred propagation directions. Computational modeling and experimental testing are employed to quantify performance enhancement of the presented approach. Specifically, dramatic enhancement of the harvested power output is reported by patterned electroding of a rectangular PVDF harvester in the elliptical mirror domain.

For ecologic sustainability and decreasing reserves of fossile energy sources, fuel efficiency is a major concern especially for passenger aircraft. Therefore, lightweight structures made from carbon fiber plastics offer great potential. But when used for panel-like structures, they have the disadvantage of lower damping and coincidence frequencies compared to conventional differential metal constructions. Both aspects lead to an increased vibration level and by this a higher noise radiation. Because of this, special noise and vibration treatment is needed to ensure passenger cabin comfort. Besides passive damping and active structural acoustic control (ASAC), piezoelectric shunt damping is investigated. Due to its broadband performance, the negative capacitance shunt can be used for multimode systems with varying eigenfrequencies. These shunts are usually built with operational amplifiers and passive components as resistors and capacitors. This setup is sufficient for laboratory tests at low excitation levels. In fact, it is not capable of accessing the full voltage amplitude of common piezoelectric transducers, because most operational amplifiers only deliver ±15V maximum output voltage. Therefore an improved setup is presented in this paper, which addresses the specific voltage requirements of a common piezoelectric transducer to achieve best performance. It comprises a tailored power source and an appropriate concept for the negative capacitance shunt hardware. This new hardware only uses standard operational amplifiers together with a high voltage power amplifier to cover the whole operating range of a piezoelectric transducer. A demonstrator board is developed and experimentally investigated at a test structure. Finally, the results are compared to a conventional setup.

The performance of high precision payloads on board a satellite is extremely sensitive to vibration. Although vibration environment of a satellite on orbit is very gentle compared to the launch environment, even a low amplitude vibration disturbances generated by reaction wheel assembly, cryocoolers, etc may cause serious problems in performing tasks such as capturing high resolution images. The most commonly taken approach to protect sensitive payloads from performance degrading vibration is application of vibration isolator. In this paper, development of vibration isolation platform for low amplitude vibration is discussed. Firstly, single axis vibration isolator is developed by adapting three parameter model using bellows and viscous fluid. The isolation performance of the developed single axis isolator is evaluated by measuring force transmissibility. The measured transmissibility shows that both the low Q-factor (about 2) and the high roll-off rate (about -40 dB/dec) are achieved with the developed isolator. Then, six single axis isolators are combined to form Stewart platform in cubic configuration to provide multi-axis vibration isolation. The isolation performance of the developed multi-axis isolator is evaluated using a simple prototype reaction wheel model in which wheel imbalance is the major source of vibration. The transmitted force without vibration isolator is measured and compared with the transmitted force with vibration isolator. More than 20 dB reduction of the X and Y direction (radial direction of flywheel) disturbance is observed for rotating wheel speed of 100 Hz and higher.

This study investigates the optimum design parameters of a superelastic friction base isolator (S-FBI) system through a multi-objective genetic algorithm and performance-based evaluation approach. The S-FBI system consists of a flat steel- PTFE sliding bearing and a superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) device. Sliding bearing limits the transfer of shear across the isolation interface and provides damping from sliding friction. SMA device provides restoring force capability to the isolation system together with additional damping characteristics. A three-story building is modeled with S-FBI isolation system. Multiple-objective numerical optimization that simultaneously minimizes isolation-level displacements and superstructure response is carried out with a genetic algorithm (GA) in order to optimize S-FBI system. Nonlinear time history analyses of the building with S-FBI system are performed. A set of 20 near-field ground motion records are used in numerical simulations. Results show that S-FBI system successfully control response of the buildings against near-fault earthquakes without sacrificing in isolation efficacy and producing large isolation-level deformations.

In this paper we present preliminary experimental results relative to the application of open loop monolithic folded pendulum sensors to the control of large band multistage suspensions (seismic attenuators) and inertial platforms in the band 0.01 ± 10Hz. In fact, beyond the obvious compactness and robustness of monolithic implementations of folded pendulum, high sensitivity, large measurement band (10⁻⁷÷ 100Hz), tunability of the resonance frequency (necessary to adapt the sensors to the mechanics), high sensitive integrated laser optical readout (e.g. optical lever, laser interferometer), and very good immunity to environmental noises are some of the main advantages of this class of sensors. The results are presented and discussed in this paper together with the planned further developments and improvements.

The heaving of ocean waves is a largely untapped, renewable kinetic energy resource. Conversion of this energy into electrical power could integrate with solar technologies to provide for round-the-clock, portable, and mobile energy supplies usable in a wide variety of marine environments. However, the direct drive conversion methodology of gridintegrated wave energy converters does not efficiently scale down to smaller, portable architectures. This research develops an alternative power conversion approach to harness the extraordinarily large heaving displacements and long oscillation periods as an excitation source for an extendible vibration energy harvesting chain. Building upon related research findings and engineering insights, the proposed system joins together a series of dynamic cells through bistable interfaces. Individual impulse events are generated as the inertial mass of each cell is pulled across a region of negative stiffness to induce local snap through dynamics; the oscillating magnetic inertial mass then generates current in a coil which is connected to energy harvesting circuitry. It is shown that linking the cells into a chain transmits impulses through the system leading to cascades of vibration and enhancement of electrical energy conversion from each impulse event. This paper describes the development of the multistable chain and ways in which realistic design challenges were addressed. Numerical modeling and corresponding experiments demonstrate the response of the chain due to slow and large amplitude input motion. Lastly, experimental studies give evidence that energy conversion efficiency of the chain for wave energy conversion is much higher than using an equal number of cells without connections.

Low-power electronic systems are used in various underwater applications ranging from naval sensor networks to ecological monitoring for sustainability. In this work, underwater base excitation of cantilevers made of Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) piezoelectric structures is explored experimentally and theoretically to harvest energy for such wireless electronic components toward enabling self-powered underwater systems. Bimorph cantilevers made of MFCs with different length-to-width ratios and same thickness are tested in air and under water to characterize the change in natural frequency and damping with a focus on the fundamental bending mode. The real and imaginary parts of hydrodynamic frequency response functions are identified and corrected based on this set of experiments. An electrohydroelastic model is developed and experimentally validated for predicting the power delivered to an electrical load as well as the shunted underwater vibration response under base excitation. Variations of the electrical power output with excitation frequency and load resistance are obtained for different length-to-width ratios. Underwater power density results are reported and compared with their in-air counterparts. Specifically a nonlinear dependence of the power density to the cantilever width is reported for energy harvesting from underwater base excitation.

There is a need for a long-life power generation scheme that could be used downhole in an oil well to produce 1 Watt average power. There are a variety of existing or proposed energy harvesting schemes that could be used in this environment but each of these has its own limitations. The vibrating piezoelectric structure is in principle capable of operating for very long lifetimes (decades) thereby possibly overcoming a principle limitation of existing technology based on rotating turbo-machinery. In order to determine the feasibility of using piezoelectrics to produce suitable flow energy harvesting, we surveyed experimentally a variety of nozzle configurations that could be used to excite a vibrating piezoelectric structure in such a way as to enable conversion of flow energy into useful amounts of electrical power. These included reed structures, spring mass-structures, drag and lift bluff bodies and a variety of nozzles with varying flow profiles. Although not an exhaustive survey we identified a spline nozzle/piezoelectric bimorph system that experimentally produced up to 3.4 mW per bimorph. This paper will discuss these results and present our initial analyses of the device using dimensional analysis and constitutive electromechanical modeling. The analysis suggests that an order-of-magnitude improvement in power generation from the current design is possible.

This paper proposes and experimentally investigates applying piezoelectric energy harvesting devices driven by flow induced vibrations to create self-powered actuation of aerostructure surfaces such as tabs, flaps, spoilers, or morphing devices. Recently, we have investigated flow-induced vibrations and limit cycle oscillations due to aeroelastic flutter phenomena in piezoelectric structures as a mechanism to harvest energy from an ambient fluid flow. We will describe how our experimental investigations in a wind tunnel have demonstrated that this harvested energy can be stored and used on-demand to actuate a control surface such as a trailing edge flap in the airflow. This actuated control surface could take the form of a separate and discrete actuated flap, or could constitute rotating or deflecting the oscillating energy harvester itself to produce a non-zero mean angle of attack. Such a rotation of the energy harvester and the associated change in aerodynamic force is shown to influence the operating wind speed range of the device, its limit cycle oscillation (LCO) amplitude, and its harvested power output; hence creating a coupling between the device’s performance as an energy harvester and as a control surface. Finally, the induced changes in the lift, pitching moment, and drag acting on a wing model are quantified and compared for a control surface equipped with an oscillating energy harvester and a traditional, static control surface of the same geometry. The results show that when operated in small amplitude LCO the energy harvester adds negligible aerodynamic drag.

This paper investigates low-power electricity generation from ultrasound acoustic wave energy transfer combined with piezoelectric energy harvesting for wireless applications ranging from medical implants to naval sensor systems. The focus is placed on an underwater system that consists of a pulsating source for spherical wave generation and a harvester connected to an external resistive load for quantifying the electrical power output. An analytical electro-acoustic model is developed to relate the source strength to the electrical power output of the harvester located at a specific distance from the source. The model couples the energy harvester dynamics (piezoelectric device and electrical load) with the source strength through the acoustic-structure interaction at the harvester-fluid interface. Case studies are given for a detailed understanding of the coupled system dynamics under various conditions. Specifically the relationship between the electrical power output and system parameters, such as the distance of the harvester from the source, dimensions of the harvester, level of source strength, and electrical load resistance are explored. Sensitivity of the electrical power output to the excitation frequency in the neighborhood of the harvester’s underwater resonance frequency is also reported.

Results from experiments using a two-degree-of-freedom airfoil system are presented. Air speeds of the airfoil are determined at which dynamic flutter can be initiated and where limit cycle oscillations (LCO) can be excited by initial (pitch or plunge) displacements. LCO’s with large pitch angle displacements attributed to stall flutter behavior are measured. The LCO oscillations are converted into electric power by an electromagnetic-inductor device. The energy harvester consists of three magnets in which one magnet floats between two fixed magnets. The force-displacement relationship of the harvester is best described by a fifth-order polynomial. The integration of the harvester into the airfoil system introduces nonlinear stiffness into the vertical (plunge) direction. When the LCO has been initiated, displacement amplitudes and resulting power generation are measured.

This paper presents the design, construction, experimental characterization, and system testing of a legged, wall-climbing robot actuated by meso-scale hydraulic artificial muscles. While small wall-climbing robots have seen increased research attention in recent years, most authors have primarily focused on designs for the gripping and adhesion of the robot to the wall, while using only standard DC servo-motors for actuation. This project seeks to explore and demonstrate a different actuation mechanism that utilizes hydraulic artificial muscles. A four-limb climbing robot platform that includes a full closed-loop hydraulic power and control system, custom hydraulic artificial muscles for actuation, an on-board microcontroller and RF receiver for control, and compliant claws with integrated sensing for gripping a variety of wall surfaces has been constructed and is currently being tested to investigate this actuation method. On-board power consumption data-logging during climbing operation, analysis of the robot kinematics and climbing behavior, and artificial muscle force-displacement characterization are presented to investigate and this actuation method.

The goal of this study is to investigate dynamic properties and the total energy change of a bio-inspired spider web. To better understand performance, the effects of preload, radial and spiral string stiffness and damping ratio on the natural frequency and total energy of the web are theoretically examined. Different types of web materials and configurations, such as damaged webs are investigated. It is demonstrated that the pretension, stiffness and damping ratio of the web’s strings can significantly affect the natural frequency and total energy of the full and damaged webs. In addition, it is shown that by increasing the pretension in the radial strings one can compensate for the damaged strings and increase the capability of the damaged web to reach that of the full web.

In this paper, we present the ultrasonic wireless power transmission system as part of a brain-machine interface (BMI) system in development to supply the required electric power. Making a small-size implantable BMI, it is essential to design a low power unit with a rechargeable battery. The ultrasonic power transmission system has two piezoelectric transducers, facing each other between skin tissues converting electrical energy to mechanical vibrational energy or vice versa. Ultrasound is free from the electromagnetic coupling effect and medical frequency band limitations which making it a promising candidate for implantable purposes. In this paper, we present the design of piezoelectric composite transducer, the rectifier circuit, and rechargeable battery that all packaged in biocompatible titanium can. An initial prototype device was built for demonstration purpose. The early experimental results demonstrate the prototype device can reach 50% of energy transmission efficiency in a water medium at 20mm distance and 18% in animal skin tissue at 18mm distance, respectively.

Regenerative semi-active suspensions can capture the previously dissipated vibration energy and convert it to usable electrical energy for powering on-board electronic devices, while achieve both the better ride comfort and improved road handling performance at the same time when certain control is applied. To achieve this objective, the power electronics interface circuit connecting the energy harvester and the electrical loads, which can perform simultaneous vibration control and energy harvesting function is in need. This paper utilized a buck-boost converter for simultaneous semi-active vibration control and energy harvesting with electromagnetic regenerative shock absorber, which utilizes a rotational generator to converter the vibration energy to electricity. It has been found that when the circuit works in discontinuous current mode (DCM), the ratio between the input voltage and current is only related to the duty cycle of the switch pulse width modulation signal. Using this property, the buck-boost converter can be used to perform semi-active vibration control by controlling the load connected between the terminals of the generator in the electromagnetic shock absorber. While performing the vibration control, the circuit always draw current from the shock absorber and the suspension remain dissipative, and the shock absorber takes no additional energy to perform the vibration control. The working principle and dynamics of the circuit has been analyzed and simulations were performed to validate the concept.

This manuscript is motivated by research that shows the shear, d₁₅, mode energy harvesters offer significant improvement in power generation over the traditional normal, d₃₁, mode based harvesters. The premise behind this study is to examine the effect of expanding the design domain of PZT based energy harvesters by considering an arbitrary poling angle. In the first part of the manuscript, we derive the equation of motions of a harvester based on Timoshenko beam theory in an unimorph configuration. The resulting equations are solved using a Rayleigh Ritz analysis. The electric displacement depends on both the normal and shear strain. Thus the proposed device operates using a combination of shear and normal modes to extract power. The extent to which each mode is used depends on the polarization orientation. We examine the effect of poling on the fundamental short and open circuit frequencies. Next, the poling angle is examined over a range to determine the effect on the power harvested at the fundamental modal frequencies of the system. The study demonstrates that an arbitrary poled piezoelectric increases the power that the harvester produces over traditionally poled devices; however, the performance is highly dependent on the geometry.

This paper presents a system integration of micro-piezoelectric energy harvester (MPEH) system based on MPEHs fabricated with an aero-deposited PZT technique, including both the device and the interface circuit design. An in depth look at the deposition method known as aerosol deposition is analyzed. Secondly, various structural designs throughout the years will be introduced and discussed. Thirdly, the non-linear synchronized switching technique interfacing circuit was designed to boost the harvested power in comparison to standard rectifying circuits. The boosting effect in comparison to theoretical expectations will also be presented. The power dissipation effects of self-powered SSHI under low current has also been discussed. Experimental results show that the device based on silicon substrate showed a maximum output power of 21 μW with the output voltage of 2.2 Vrms, excited at 215 Hz under a 1.5 g vibrating source. In comparison, the device based on stainless steel substrate, driven under the same acceleration, had a maximum output power of 34 μW with 1.8 Vrms at the resonant frequency of 202 Hz. The power densities were 4.7 μW mm-2 and 7.6 μW mm-2 for the silicon substrate and the stainless steel substrate based devices, each. The cantilever structured MPEG was later improved to the power output of 200.28 μW. To further improve the output characteristic, the device was tested under vacuumed circumstance, which then gave the output power of 241.60μW, with a 6.02 Vrms under 1.5 g, 104.4Hz. The power boosting circuit gave a power gain of 2.03 times, as the overall system outputs 91.4 μW using the self-powered nonlinear technique under 0.75 g with a similar device. The overall system, using only the standard rectifying circuit was able to light a low consumption red- colored SMD-0805 packaged LED in a duty ratio of approximately 25%.

Aeroelastic instabilities have been frequently exploited for energy harvesting purpose to power standalone electronic systems, such as wireless sensors. Meanwhile, various energy harvesting interface circuits, such as synchronized charge extraction (SCE) and synchronized switching harvesting on inductor (SSHI), have been widely pursued in the literature for efficiency enhancement of energy harvesting from existing base vibrations. These interfaces, however, have not been applied for aeroelastic energy harvesting. This paper investigates the feasibility of the SCE interface in galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvesting, with a focus on its benefit for performance improvement and influence on the galloping dynamics in different electromechanical coupling regimes. A galloping-based piezoelectric energy harvester (GPEH) is prototyped with an aluminum cantilever bonded with a piezoelectric sheet. Wind tunnel test is conducted with a simple electrical interface composed of a resistive load. Circuit simulation is performed with equivalent circuit representation of the GPEH system and confirmed by experimental results. Consequently, a self-powered SCE interface is implemented with the capability of self peak-detecting and switching. Circuit simulation for various electromechanical coupling cases shows that the harvested power with SCE interface for GPEH is independent of the electrical load, similar to that for a vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvester (VPEH). The SCE interface outperforms the standard interface if the electromechanical coupling is weak, and requires much less piezoelectric material to achieve the maximum power output. Moreover, influence of electromechanical coupling on the dynamics of GPEH with SCE is found sensitive to the wind speed.

In this paper, a new type of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) mount is proposed. This design is based on the well-known of two modes of MRF such as flow mode and shear mode. These modes are applied in the design which includes two components: MR mount for controlling vertical vibrations, and MR brake for controlling horizontal vibrations. The structure of MR valve is applied in design mount part, while the disk type of structure is employed in design brake part. These structures contribute to the initial requirements such as small structure, high damping force and high braking force. The theoretical analysis for the design is undertaken followed by design optimization using ANSYS ADPL software. The objective functions are concentrated on maximal damping force for MR mount and maximum braking force for MR brake. As traditional design, rubber mount is used in the proposed design for suffering static loads. It has been shown through computer simulation that the initial requirements with high damping force and high braking force have been successfully achieved.

As the vibration of high speed train becomes fierce when the train runs at high speed, it is crucial to develop a novel suspension system to negotiate train’s vibration. This paper presents a novel suspension based on Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) damper and MRF based smart air spring. The MRF damper is used to generate variable damping while the smart air spring is used to generate field-dependent stiffness. In this paper, the two kind smart devices, MRF dampers and smart air spring, are developed firstly. Then the dynamic performances of these two devices are tested by MTS. Based on the testing results, the two devices are equipped to a high speed train which is built in ADAMS. The skyhook control algorithm is employed to control the novel suspension. In order to compare the vibration suppression capability of the novel suspension with other kind suspensions, three other different suspension systems are also considered and simulated in this paper. The other three kind suspensions are variable damping with fixed stiffness suspension, variable stiffness with fixed damping suspension and passive suspension. The simulation results indicate that the variable damping and stiffness suspension suppresses the vibration of high speed train better than the other three suspension systems.

The goal of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a fail-safe, bi-linear spring controllable magnetorheological fluid damper (BLS-CMRD). This research introduces a new device with independently pre-set spring forces in compression and rebound combined with a controllable MR fluid damping. In this work, a BLS-CMRD is designed, fabricated, tested and evaluated. Experiments are performed for sinusoidal displacements in the quasistatic and dynamic ranges to evaluate the performance of the BLS-CMRD under different magnetic fields. The experimental results prove that the device reacts with significantly different spring forces from the compression to rebound regions, while providing passive viscous and controllable MR fluid damping. With this first of a kind system it is demonstrated that the utility of a bi-linear liquid spring can be combined with the reliability of passive viscous fluid damping and the capabilities of controllable MR fluid damping into one compact and versatile device.

Semi-active magnetorheological energy absorbers (MREAs) are one type of the most promising actuator for both the vibration and shock control. This paper investigates the frontal crash mitigation performance of semi-active MR impact seat suspensions for ground vehicles. The characteristics of two MREAs, a conventional MREA and an MREA with an internal bypass, with an identical volume, are theoretically evaluated and compared. To explore the control effectiveness of MREAs in the shock control systems, the mechanical model of a 4-degree-of-freedom (4DOF) sliding seat suspension system with MREAs is constructed. An optimal Bingham number control, which is to minimize the crash pulse loads transmitted to occupants by utilizing maximum stroke of the MREAs based on initial velocity of crash pulse, mass, and damping, is proposed and developed to improve the crash mitigation performance of the 4DOF MR sliding seat suspension control systems. The simulated control performances of the mitigation systems based on the MREAs with different functional structures are evaluated, compared, and analyzed. The research results indicate that (1) the constant stroking load velocity range of the MREAs is of significance to evaluate the controllability of the MREAs (i.e., the effectiveness of the semi-active shock control systems), and (2) suboptimal Bingham number control cannot realize “soft landing” (i.e., either an end-stop impact or incomplete utilization of the MREA stroke happens).

The authors recently reported on a hybrid rotary-translational vibration energy harvesting approach using a spherical permanent-magnet and employing cycloidal motion as a mechanical amplifier. The rotary-translational harvesting approach, which is resonant in nature, can yield approximately twice the e.m.f. compared with a similar translationalonly device. This paper explores the analytic and numerical modelling of the rotary-translational harvester with the goal of finding an efficient method for design optimisation.

A review of the vibration energy harvesting literature has been undertaken with the goal of establishing scaling laws for experimentally demonstrated harvesting devices. In particular electromagnetic harvesting devices are investigated. Power density metrics are examined with respect to scaling length, mass, frequency and drive acceleration. Improvements in demonstrated power density of harvesting devices over the past decade are noted. Scaling laws are observed that appear to suggest an upper limit to the power density achievable with current harvesting techniques.

In this study, experimental characterizations of a new hybrid energy harvesting device consisting of piezoelectric and electromagnetic transducers are presented. The generator, to be worn on the legs or arms of a person, harnesses linear motion and impact forces from human motion to generate electrical energy. The device consists of an unbalanced rotor made of three piezoelectric beams which have permanent magnets attached to the ends. Impact forces cause the beams to vibrate, generating a voltage across their electrodes and linear motion causes the rotor to spin. As the rotor spins, the magnets pass over ten electromagnetic coils mounted to the base, inducing a current through the wire. Several design related issues were investigated experimentally in order to optimize the hybrid device for maximum power generation. Further experiments were conducted on the system to characterize the energy harvesting capabilities of the device, all of which are presented in this study.

Regenerative/Energy harvesting shock absorbers have a great potential to increase fuel efficiency and provide suspension damping simultaneously. In recent years there’s intensive work on this topic, but most researches focus on electricity extraction from vibration and harvesting efficiency improvement. The integration of electricity generated from regenerative shock absorbers into vehicle electric system, which is very important to realize the fuel efficiency benefit, has not been investigated. This paper is to study and demonstrate the integration of regenerative shock absorber with vehicle alternator, battery and in-vehicle electrical load together. In the presented system, the shock absorber is excited by a shaker and it converts kinetic energy into electricity. The harvested electricity flows into a DC/DC converter which realizes two functions: controlling the shock absorber’s damping and regulating the output voltage. The damping is tuned by controlling shock absorber’s output current, which is also the input current of DC/DC converter. By adjusting the duty cycles of switches in the converter, its input impedance together with input current can be adjusted according to dynamic damping requirements. An automotive lead-acid battery is charged by the DC/DC converter’s output. To simulate the working condition of combustion engine, an AC motor is used to drive a truck alternator, which also charges the battery. Power resistors are used as battery’s electrical load to simulate in-vehicle electrical devices. Experimental results show that the proposed integration strategy can effectively utilize the harvested electricity and power consumption of the AC motor is decreased accordingly. This proves the combustion engine’s load reduction and fuel efficiency improvement.

We report the investigation of an energy harvesting system composed of coupled resonators with the magnetostrictive material Galfenol (FeGa). A coupled system of meso-scale (1-10 cm) cantilever beams for harvesting vibration energy is described for powering and aiding the performance of low-power wireless sensor nodes. Galfenol is chosen in this work for its durability, compared to the brittleness often encountered with piezoelectric materials, and high magnetomechanical coupling. A lumped model, which captures both the mechanical and electrical behavior of the individual transducers, is first developed. The values of the lumped element parameters are then derived empirically from fabricated beams in order to compare the model to experimental measurements. The governing equations of the coupled system lead to a system of differential equations with all-to-all coupling between transducers. An analysis of the system equations reveals different patterns of collective oscillations. Among the many different patterns, a synchronous state appears to yield the maximum energy that can be harvested by the system. Experiments on coupled system shows that the coupled system exhibits synchronization and an increment in the output power. Discussion of the required power converters is also included.

Nowadays, thermal-energy-harvesting is an important research topic for powering wireless sensors. Among numerous thermal-energy-harvesting approaches, some researchers demonstrated novel thermomagnetic-energy harvesters to convert a thermal-energy from an ambient temperature-difference to an electrical-output to power the sensors. However, the harvesters are too bulky to be integrated with the sensors embedded in tiny mechanical-structures for some structuralhealth- monitoring applications. Therefore, miniaturized harvesters are needed. Hence, we demonstrate a miniature thermomagnetic-energy harvester. The harvester consists of CuBe-beams, PZT-piezoelectric-sheet, Gd-soft-magnet, NdFeB-hard-magnet, and mechanical-frame. The piezoelectric-sheet and soft-magnet is bounded at fixed-end and freeend of the beams, respectively. The mechanical-frame assembles the beams and hard-magnet. The length×width×thickness of the harvester is 2.5cm×1.7cm×1.5cm. According to this, our harvester is 20-times smaller than the other harvesters. In the initial-state of the energy-harvesting, the beams’ free-end is near the cold-side. Thus, the soft-magnet is cooled lower than its curie temperature (Tc) and consequently changed from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic. Therefore, a magnetic-attractive force is produced between the soft-magnet and hard-magnet. Consequently, the beams/soft-magnet are down-pulled toward the hard-magnet fixed on the hot-side. The soft-magnet closing to the hot-side is heated higher than its Tc and subsequently changed to paramagnetic. Consequently, the magnetic-force is eliminated thus the beams are rebounded to the initial-state. Hence, when the harvester is under a temperature-difference, the beams’ pulling-down/back process is cyclic. Due to the piezoelectric effect, the piezoelectric-sheet fixed on the beams continuously produces voltage-response. Under the temperature-difference of 29°C, the voltage-response of the harvester is 30.4 mV with an oscillating-frequency of 0.098 Hz.

As a result of the documented performance limitations of conventional linear piezoelectric energy harvesters, researchers have focused their efforts towards device designs that can better capture broadband energy. The approaches used can be classified into three categories: frequency tuning, multi-modal energy harvesting, and nonlinear energy harvesting¹. Of the nonlinear harvesting approaches studied, bistable energy harvesters have been shown to have the most robust performance when subjected to broadband harmonic & stochastic excitation^2-4. A conventional method for developing a nonlinear bistable restoring force is through use of magnetic repulsion. In these studies, a common theme of high-energy orbit breakdown occurs during a frequency upsweep. The issue at hand is the inability of the device inertial forces to overcome the potential energy barrier (separatrix) inherent to a bistable potential energy. This paper proposes the use of a high-permeability electromagnet for adaptively controlling the bistable magnetic repulsion force to expand the frequency bandwidth for high-energy harmonic oscillations. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear oscillator are used to study the system response under varying parameters of separation distance and electromagnetic coil current. An analytical model of the magnetic moment of an electromagnet is developed for use in studying the force interaction between repulsing magnets and to determine the parametric space that generates buckling loads in a cantilever bimorph energy harvester.

Nonlinear harvesting devices have been shown to maintain large amplitude oscillations over a wider range of frequencies than their linear counter parts. Central to exploiting the dynamic behaviour for harvesting is the understanding of the cross-well oscillations which involve constant snap-through between the stable states of such systems. Yet the phenomena involving the dynamics of snap-through and their impact in the harvesting characteristics have not been studied in detail. In this paper, the relevant response characteristics for dynamically triggered snap-through of bi-stable composite laminates for energy harvesting are investigated. A nonlinear model for the dynamics of the bi-stable composites is used to study the relation between the properties of the laminate and the acceleration level required for causing snap-through. In particular, the effect of varying the induced stress level on the dynamic response is investigated. The obtained relations provide a tool for designing the excitation level for which broad-band response bi-stable systems is obtained, aiding the design of harvesting devices based on such structures.

This paper presents analytical modeling and case studies of broadband and band-limited random vibration energy harvesting using a piezoceramic patch attached on a thin plate. The literature of vibration-based energy harvesting has been mostly focused on resonant cantilevered structures. However, cantilevered beam-type harvesters have limited broadband vibration energy harvesting capabilities unless they are combined with a nonlinear component. Moreover, cantilever arrangements cannot always be mounted on thin structures (which are basic components of marine, aerospace, and ground transportation systems) without significantly affecting the host system’s design and overall dynamics. A patch-based piezoelectric energy harvester structurally integrated to a thin plate can be a proper alternative to using resonant cantilevers for harvesting energy from thin structures. Besides, plate-like structures have more number of vibration modes compared to beam structures, offering better broadband performance characteristics. In this paper, we present analytical modelling of patch-based piezoelectric energy harvester attached on a thin plate for random vibrations. The analytical model is based on electromechanically-coupled distributed-parameter formulation and validated by comparing the electromechanical frequency response functions (FRFs) with experimental results. Example case studies are then presented to investigate the expected power output of a piezoceramic patch attached on an aluminum plate for the case of random force excitations. The effect of bandwidth of random excitation on the mean power and shunted mean-square vibration response are explored with a focus on the number of vibration modes covered in the frequency range of input power spectral density (PSD).

This paper presents performance analysis of semi-active railway vehicle suspension system using MR damper. In order to achieve this goal, a mathematical dynamic model of railway vehicle is derived by integrating car body, bogie frame and wheel-set which can be able to represent lateral, yaw and roll motion. Based on this model, the dynamic range of MR damper at the railway secondary suspension system and design parameters of MR damper are calculated. Subsequently, control performances of railway vehicle including car body lateral motion and acceleration of MR damper are evaluated through computer simulations. Then, the MR damper is manufactured to be retrofitted with the real railway vehicle and its characteristics are experimentally measured. Experimental performance of MR damper is assessed using test rig which is composed of a car body and two bogies.

The general study and applications of Magneto-Rhelogical (MR) dampers have been spread in the lasts years but only some studies have been focusing on the vibration control problems on rotor-bearings systems. Squeeze-Film Dampers (SFD) are now commonly used to passively control the vibration response on rotor-bearing systems because they can provide flexibility, damping and extend the so-called stability thresholds in rotating machinery. More recently, SFD are combined with MR or Electro-Rheological (ER) fluids to introduce a semiactive control mechanism to modify the rotordynamic coefficients and deal with the robust performance of the overall system response for higher operating speeds. There are, however, some theoretical and technological problems that complicate their extensive use, like the relationship between the centering spring flexibility and the rheological behavior of the smart fluid to produce the SFD forces. In this work it is considered a SFD with MR fluid and a set of circular section beams in a squirrel cage arrangement in combination with latex seals as centering springs. The mathematical model analysis includes the controllable viscoelastic properties associated to the MR fluid. The characterization of the SFD is made by the determination of some coefficients associated with a modified Choi-Lee-Park polynomial model. During the analysis is considered a rotor-bearing system modeled using finite element methods. The SFD with MR fluid is connected to an experimental platform to validate and experimentally evaluate the overall system. Finally, to improve the open-loop system performance, a methodology for the use of different control schemes is proposed.

Phononic crystals are periodic structures consist of different materials in an elastic medium designed to interact with elastic waves. These crystals have practical applications, such as, frequency filters, beam splitters, sound or vibration protectors, acoustic lasers, acoustic mirrors and elastic waveguides. In this study, the wave propagation in a tunable phononic crystal is investigated. The magnetically controllable phononic crystal consists of a soft magnetorheological elastic medium undergoing large deformations upon the application of a magnetic field. Finite deformations and induced magnetic fields influence wave propagation characteristics in the periodic structure. The soft matrix is modeled as a hyperelastic elastomer to take into account the material nonlinearity. The integrated effects of material properties, transformation of the geometry of the unit cell, and the induced magnetic field, are used to tune the band structure of the periodic structure. Both analytical and finite element methods are employed to evaluate the dispersion diagrams considering Bloch boundary conditions. Results show that the applied magnetic field significantly affect the width and the position of band-gaps.

The present manuscript is aimed at describing the PEASSS – PiezoElectric Assisted Smart Satellite Structure project, which was initiated at the beginning of 2013 and financed by the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) of the European Commission. The aims of the project were to develop, manufacture, test and qualify “smart structures” which combine composite panels, piezoelectric materials, and next generation sensors, for autonomously improved pointing accuracy and power generation in space. The smart panels will enable fine angle control, and thermal and vibration compensation, improving all types of future Earth observations, such as environmental and planetary mapping, border and regional imaging. This new technology will help keep Europe on the cutting edge of space research, potentially improving the cost and development time for more accurate future sensor platforms including synthetic aperture optics, moving target detection and identification, and compact radars. The system components include new nano-satellite electronics, a piezo power generation system based on the pyroelectric effect, a piezo actuated smart structure, and a fiber-optic sensor and interrogator system. The present paper will deal only with two of the components, namely the piezo power generation system and the piezo actuated smart structure The designs are going to be prototyped into breadboard models for functional development and testing. Following completion of operational breadboards, components will evolve to flight-test ready hardware and related software, ready to be integrated into a working satellite. Once the nanosattelite is assembled, on ground tests will be performed. Finally, the satellite will be launched and tested in space at the end of 2015.

Smart materials offer several potential advantages for UAV flight control applications compared to traditional servo actuators. One important benefit is that smart materials are lightweight and can be embedded directly into the structure of a wing or control surface. Therefore, they can reduce the overall weight of the vehicle and eliminate the need for mechanical appendages that may compromise the form factor of the wing, benefits that become more significant as the size of the vehicle decreases. In addition, smart materials can be used to realize continuous camber change of aerodynamic surfaces. Such designs offer improved aerodynamic efficiency compared to the discontinuous deflections of traditional hinged control surfaces driven by servo actuators. In the research discussed in this paper, macro-fiber composite (MFC) aileron actuators are designed for implementation on a medium-scale, fixed-wing UAV in order to achieve roll control. Macro-fiber composites, which consist of piezoceramic fibers and electrodes embedded in an epoxy matrix, are an attractive choice for UAV actuation because they are manufactured as lightweight, thin sheets and, when implemented as bending actuators, can provide both large structural deflections and high bandwidth. In this study, several MFC aileron actuator designs were evaluated through a combination of theoretical and experimental analysis. The current design consists of glass fiber composite ailerons with two unimorph MFC actuators embedded in each aileron to produce upward deflection. Wind tunnel test results are presented to assess the changes in lift and drag coefficients for different levels of MFC aileron actuation. Preparations for open-loop flight testing using a Skywalker UAV with MFC ailerons are also discussed. In addition, the development of a closed-loop, autonomous flight control system for the Skywalker is overviewed in preparation for conducting simulations and flight testing of an autonomous Skywalker with MFC aileron actuators.

The flexure-box morphing aileron concept utilizes Macro-Fiber Composites (MFCs) and a compliant box to create a conformal morphing aileron. This work evaluates the impact of the number of MFCs on the performance, power and mass of the aileron by experimentally investigating two different actuator configurations: unimorph and bimorph. Implemented in a NACA 0012 airfoil with 304.8 mm chord, the unimorph and bimorph configurations are experimentally tested over a range of flow speeds from 5 to 20 m/s and angles of attack from -20 to 20 degrees under aerodynamic loads in a wind tunnel. An embedded flexible sensor is installed in the aileron to evaluate the effect of aerodynamic loading on tip position. For both design choices, the effect of actuation on lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients are measured. Finally, the impact on aileron mass and average power consumption due to the added MFCs is considered. The results showed the unimorph exhibiting superior ability to influence flow up to 15 m/s, with equivalent power consumption and lower overall mass. At 20 m/s, the bimorph exhibited superior control over aerodynamic forces and the unimorph experienced significant deformation due to aerodynamic loading.

This paper presents a novel variable modulus cellular structure based on a hexagonal unit cell with pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) inclusions. The cell considered is pin-jointed, loaded in the horizontal direction, with three PAMs (one vertical PAM and two horizontal PAMs) oriented in an “H” configuration between the vertices of the cell. A method for calculation of the hexagonal cell modulus is introduced, as is an expression for the balance of tensile forces between the horizontal and vertical PAMs. An aluminum hexagonal unit cell is fabricated and simulation of the hexagonal cell with PAM inclusions is then compared to experimental measurement of the unit cell modulus in the horizontal direction with all three muscles pressurized to the same value over a pressure range up to 758 kPa. A change in cell modulus by a factor of 1.33 and a corresponding change in cell angle of 0.41° are demonstrated experimentally. A design study via simulation predicts that differential pressurization of the PAMs up to 2068 kPa can change the cell modulus in the horizontal direction by a factor of 6.83 with a change in cell angle of only 2.75°. Both experiment and simulation show that this concept provides a way to decouple the length change of a PAM from the change in modulus to create a structural unit cell whose in-plane modulus in a given direction can be tuned based on the orientation of PAMs within the cell and the pressure supplied to the individual muscles.

Owing to the two-way electro-mechanical coupling characteristics, piezoelectric transducers have been widely used as sensors and actuators in sensing and control applications. In this research, we explore the integration of piezoelectric transducer with the structure, in which the transducer is connected with a Wheatstone bridge based circuitry subjected to chaotic excitation. It is shown that a type of Wheatstone bridge circuit with proper parameters configuration can increase sensitivity in detecting structural anomaly. Such integration has the potential to significantly amplify the response change when the underlying structure is subject to property change. Comprehensive analytical and experimental studies are carried out to demonstrate the concept and validate the performance improvement.

Devices with increased sensitivities are needed for various applications including the detection of chemical and biological agents. This paper presents the design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices that incorporate lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films in order to realize highly sensitive sensors. In this work, the piezoelectric properties of the PZT are exploited to produce sensors that perform optimally for mass sensing applications. The sensor is designed to operate as a thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (TFBAR) whereas a piezoelectric is sandwiched between electrodes and senses a change in mass by measuring a change in resonance frequency. Modeling of the TFBAR sensor, using finite element analysis software COMSOL, was performed to examine optimal device design parameters and is presented in this paper. The effect of the PZT thickness on device resonance is also presented. The piezoelectric properties of the PZT is based on its crystal structure, therefore, optimization of the PZT film growth parameters is also described in this work. A detailed description of the fabrication process flow developed based on the optimization of the device design and film growth is also given. The TFBAR sensor consists of 150 nm of PZT, 150nm of silicon dioxide, silicon substrate, titanium/platinum bottom electrodes, and aluminum top electrodes. The top electrodes are segmented to increase the sensitivity of the sensor. The resonance frequency of the device is 3.2 GHz.

Torsional vibrations of circular tubes, rods, rings, and disks are widely used as operation modes of acoustic wave transducers in various piezoelectric devices. In this paper, a piezoelectric disk with spiral interdigitated electrodes is proposed to generate in-plane torsion in a simple and effective manner. Design and working principle of the torsional transducer are introduced. Vibration characteristics of the transducer with a constant spiral angle are studied. A simplified model is established to investigate the basic dynamic characteristics of torsional vibration accompanying with radial vibration. Electric admittance, resonant frequencies, and mode shapes with different boundary conditions are calculated. Resonant frequencies as functions of several structural parameters are discussed.

The principle and structural configuration of an active controlled microfluidic valve with annular boundary is presented in this paper. The active controlled flowrate model of the active controlled microfluidic valve with annular boundary is established. The prototypes of the active controlled microfluidic valves with annular boundaries with three different combinations of the inner and outer radii are fabricated and tested on the established experimental setup. The experimental results show that: (1) The active controlled microfluidic valve with annular boundary possesses the on/off switching and the continuous control capability of the fluid with simple structure and easy fabrication processing; (2) When the inner and outer diameters of the annular boundary are 1.5 mm and 3.5 mm, respectively, the maximum flowrate of the valve is 0.14 ml/s when the differential pressure of the inlet and outlet of the valve is 1000 Pa and the voltage applied to circular piezoelectric unimorph actuator is 100 V; (3) The established active controlled flowrate model can accurately predict the controlled flowrate of the active controlled microfluidic valves with the maximum relative error of 6.7%. The results presented in this paper lay the foundation for designing and developing the active controlled microfluidic valves with annular boundary driven by circular piezoelectric unimorph actuators.

Vibration-based energy harvesting has been heavily researched over the last decade to enable self-powered small electronic components for wireless applications in various disciplines ranging from biomedical to civil engineering. The existing research efforts in this interdisciplinary field have mostly focused on the harvesting of deterministic or stochastic vibrational energy available at a fixed position in space. Such an approach is convenient to design and employ linear and nonlinear vibration-based energy harvesters, such as base-excited cantilevers with piezoelectric laminates. However, persistent vibrations at a fixed frequency and spatial point, or standing wave patterns, are rather simplified representations of ambient vibrational energy. As an alternative to energy harvesting from spatially localized vibrations and standing wave patterns, this work presents an investigation into the harvesting of one-dimensional bending waves in infinite beams. The focus is placed on the use of piezoelectric patches bonded to a thin and long beam and employed to transform the incoming wave energy into usable electricity while minimizing the traveling waves reflected and transmitted from the harvester domain. To this end, performance enhancement by wavelength matching, resistiveinductive circuits, and a localized obstacle are explored. Electroelastic model predictions and performance enhancement efforts are validated experimentally for various case studies.

This article reports a novel finite element model of piezoelectric energy harvesters accounting for the effect of nonlinear interface circuits. The idea is to replace the energy harvesting circuit in parallel with the parasitic piezoelectric capacitance by an equivalent load impedance. This approach offers many advantages. First, the model itself can be implemented conveniently in commercial finite element softwares. Second, it directly provides system-level designs on the whole without resorting to circuit solvers. Third, the extensions to complicated structures such as array configurations are straightforward. The proposed finite element model is validated by considering the case of an array system endowed with the standard, parallel-/series-SSHI (synchronized switch harvesting on inductor) interfaces. Good agreement is found between simulation results and analytic estimates.

The need for reduced power requirements for small electronic components, such as wireless sensor networks, has prompted interest in recent years for energy harvesting technologies capable of capturing energy from broadband ambient vibrations. Encouraging results have been reported for an arrangement of piezoelectric layers attached to carbon fiber / epoxy laminates which possess bistability by virtue of their specific asymmetric stacking sequence. The inherent bistability of the underlying structure is exploited for energy harvesting since a transition from one stable configuration to another, or ‘snap-through’, is used to repeatedly strain the surface-bonded piezoelectric and generate electrical energy. Existing studies, both experimental and modelling, have been limited to simple geometric laminate shapes, restricting the scope for improved energy harvesting performance by limiting the number of design variables. In this paper we present an analytical model to predict the static shapes of laminates of any desired profile, validated experimentally using a digital image correlation system. Good accuracy in terms of out-of-plane displacements (5-7%) are shown in line with existing square modelling results. The static model is then mapped to a dynamics model and used to compare results against an experimental study of the harvesting performance of an example arbitrary geometry piezoelectric-laminate energy harvester.

Dielectric loss is one of the important parasitic features of piezoelectric materials; nevertheless, its role in practical piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems has received little attention in previous studies. Based on the integrated equivalent impedance network model, this paper investigates the susceptibility of harvested power in PEH systems under different dielectric leakage conditions when different harvesting interface circuit is adopted. It shows that dielectric loss always counteracts power generation in PEH systems. In particular, harvested power degrades from the ideal lossless case more significantly under large dielectric leakage, or when power boosting interface circuits, e.g., synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), are adopted. These results provide useful insight for the selections of piezoelectric material and harvesting interface circuit towards holistic PEH designs.

Origami engineering, a discipline encompassing the creation of practical three-dimensional structures from two- dimensional entities via folding operations, has the potential to impact multiple fields of manufacturing and design. In some circumstances, it may be practical to have self-folding capabilities instead of creating folds by external manipulations (as in morphing structures in outer space or on the ocean floor). This paper considers the use of a self-folding laminate composite consisting of two outer layers of thermally actuated shape memory alloy (SMA) wire meshes separated by an inner compliant insulating layer. Methods for designing folding patterns and determining temperature fields to obtain desired shapes and behaviors are proposed. Sheets composed of the self-folding laminate are modeled via finite element analysis (FEA) and the proposed methods are implemented to test their capabilities. One method uses a previously developed and freely available software called Freeform Origami for folding pattern design. The second method entails the use of optimization to determine the localized activation temperatures required to obtain desired shapes or to perform specific functions. The proposed methods are demonstrated to be applicable for the design of folding patterns and determination of activation temperatures for the self-folding laminate by showing successful examples of their implementation. This exploratory study provides new tools that can be integrated into the design framework of self-folding origami structures.

This paper develops a smart hybrid rotary damper using a re-centering smart shape memory alloy (SMA) material as well as conventional energy-dissipating metallic plates that are easy to be replaced. The ends of the SMA and steel plates are inserted in the hinge. When the damper rotates, all the plates bend, providing energy dissipating and recentering characteristics. Such smart hybrid rotary dampers can be installed in structures to mitigate structural responses and to re-center automatically. The damaged energy-dissipating plates can be easily replaced promptly after an external excitation, reducing repair time and costs. An OpenSEES model of a smart hybrid rotary was established and calibrated to reproduce the realistic behavior measured from a full-scale experimental test. Furthermore, the seismic performance of a 3-story moment resisting model building with smart hybrid rotary dampers designed for downtown Los Angeles was also evaluated in the OpenSEES structural analysis software. Such a smart moment resisting frame exhibits perfect residual roof displacement, 0.006”, extremely smaller than 18.04” for the conventional moment resisting frame subjected to a 2500 year return period ground motion for the downtown LA area (an amplified factor of 1.15 on Kobe earthquake). The smart hybrid rotary dampers are also applied into an eccentric braced steel frame, which combines a moment frame system and a bracing system. The results illustrate that adding smart hybrid rotaries in this braced system not only completely restores the building after an external excitation, but also significantly reduces peak interstory drifts.

In recent years, an increasing number of breakthroughs have been made in the field of small-scale wind energy harvesting, where specialized materials are utilized to convert flow energy into electric power. Several studies on this power extraction rely on a common energy harvester setup in which a stiff cantilever beam is attached to the trailing edge of a miniature bluff body. At these small scales where boundary layer effects are appreciable in the laminar flow regime, periodic vortex shedding can be used to drive transverse vibrations in the beam. Interestingly, the fluid dynamics involved in this unsteady process have been studied for decades not to exploit their characteristics, but instead to eliminate potentially destructive effects. As a result, there is still much room for improvement and expansion on recent design studies. A study of how subtle changes in bluff body trailing edge geometry effect power output of a model will be presented in this paper. The model under consideration consists of a miniature bluff body on the order of tens of millimeters in diameter, to which a piezoelectric cantilever is attached at the trailing edge. This model is specifically designed for laminar to transitional Reynolds Number flows (500−2800) where the periodicity of vortex shedding approaches the natural frequency of the beam. As the flow speed is further increased, the effect of lock-in occurs where the resonant beam motion resists a change in vortex shedding frequency. Vibration amplitudes of the beam reach a maximum under this condition, thus maximizing power generation efficiency of the system and providing an optimal condition to operate the harvester. In an effort to meaningfully compare the results, a number of dimensionless parameters are employed. The influence of parameters such as beam length and natural frequency, fluid flow speed, and trailing edge geometry are studied utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics laminar, fluid-structure interaction simulations in order to create design guidelines for an improved energy harvester.