Boosting energy harvesting efficiency through novel tri-hybrid multi-stable vibration-based energy harvesting techniques: Mechanical designs and potential applications

Vibrations are omnipresent in our environment, but often this energy goes to waste. Through the conversion of mechanical or biomechanical vibrations in the surrounding environment into electrical energy, vibration-based energy harvesting techniques offer a sustainable and autonomous power supply. This supports the shift towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy framework, potentially aiding in the achievement of a net-zero carbon environment. Research on vibration-based energy harvesting methods, from macro- to nano-scales, has made significant progress over the past two decades. However, there is a need to improve the performance of these techniques under low-frequency, low-amplitude, and random ambient excitations. Recent trends and demands may provide new insights into addressing this issue. This presentation will introduce various innovative tri-hybrid multi-stable nonlinearity-enhanced vibration-driven energy harvesting devices, which are able to serve as a universal power source for powering various commercial electronic devices (e.g., smartphones and GPS sensors) under low-level excitation conditions. The current study, utilizing the same device configuration, has the potential to be used in multiple fields for monitoring the condition of rail transport, human-induced movements, and environmental monitoring during irregular wave motions.