Design and Optimization of Forced Transducers for Energy Harvesting from Ambient Mechanical Vibrations, Wind, and Ocean Waves

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable and self-powered systems has intensified research into harvesting energy from ambient environmental sources. This paper focuses on the design and optimization of forced transducers for efficient energy harvesting from ambient mechanical vibrations, wind, and ocean waves. A unified multiphysics modeling framework is developed to describe the dynamic behavior of transducers under externally forced excitations and to capture the coupling between mechanical motion and electrical energy conversion mechanisms. The study systematically analyzes key design parameters, including mass, stiffness, damping, geometry, and transduction mechanisms, to maximize harvested power, efficiency, and operational bandwidth. Source-specific strategies are proposed to address the distinct characteristics of vibration-based, wind-induced, and wave-driven excitations, particularly their low-frequency and variable nature. Analytical and numerical optimisation techniques are employed to tune the transducer response to the dominant excitation frequencies and enhance robustness under varying environmental conditions. The optimized designs demonstrate improved energy conversion performance compared to conventional transducers, highlighting gains in output power and frequency adaptability. The findings provide practical design guidelines for selecting suitable transduction mechanisms and structural parameters based on the targeted ambient energy source. Overall, the study contributes to the development of reliable and efficient forced transducers for powering low-energy electronic devices and sensor networks in diverse real-world environments.