Maximum energy harvesting from vibration-based electromagnetic microgenerator using active damping

A power electronic scheme for active damping of electromagnetic microgenerators is presented.The scheme utilises a direct AC-DC converter capable of optimum energy harvesting from low-voltage generators. The converter also boosts the low AC generator voltage to a high DC voltage required by electronic loads (2-3.3-V). Variable damping of the resonance-based electromechanical system is demonstrated. The ability of the converter to offer an adjustable resistive load to the microgenerator and harvest maximum energy by changing the duty cycle of the converter is validated through experimental results.