Research on Performance Improvement of Magnetostrictive Vibration Power Generator by Frame Material

Abstract

As the performance of modules improved and the Internet became widespread, various electric appliances in daily life became connected to the Internet. Along with this, related to the method of supplying power to the module, attention is being paid to energy harvesting such as vibrational power generator. A magnetostrictive vibration generator comprising a magnetostrictive material (Fe-Ga alloy) and a vibrating material is a promising device capable of generating small size and high power. However, selection of the optimum vibration material and analysis of the magnetic circuit for the magnetic characteristics of the Fe-Ga alloy were insufficient, and it was thought that the vibration power generation device could not fully demonstrate the performance. In this paper, magnetic properties of monocrystalline Fe-Ga alloy and vibrating material are grasped and magnetic analysis using finite element method is carried out. In addition, actually samples were prepared and compared with the results of magnetic analysis. From this result, we examined the effect of combinations of materials on device performance.