SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HARVESTING VIBRATIONAL ENERGY FROM VEHICLES

• US 20120169064A1
• Filed: 01/03/2011
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Hoffman, Herbert, Hofbeck, Eric, Lin, Alex
• Granted Patent: US 8,860,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/1.R
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 41/00 Power installations for auxiliary purposes
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 7/08 recovering energy derived from swinging, rolling, pitching or like movements, e.g. from the vibrations of a machine
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/188 adapted for resonant operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/50 On board measures aiming to increase energy efficiency

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, systems and apparatuses for harvesting vibrational energy from vehicles, as well as methods for locating vibrational energy on a vehicle. One harvesting apparatus comprises a vibrational energy harvester coupled to a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of the structural element of a vehicle, and tuned to a frequency of vibration of the maximal vibrational displacement node. The harvester may be one of a variety of harvesting devices, such as piezoelectric devices. Methods are also provided to locate structural elements which are appropriate for vibrational energy harvesting.

Claims

1. An apparatus for harvesting vibrational energy from a structural element of a vehicle possessing vibrational energy, said apparatus comprising:

a vibrational energy harvester coupled to a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of the structural element, and tuned to a frequency of vibration of the maximal vibrational displacement node.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the vibrational energy harvester is selected from the group consisting of a piezoelectric device, an electrostatic energy harvester and an electromagnetic energy harvester.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

the vibrational energy harvester includes a cantilever beam piezoelectric device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

harvesting circuitry coupled to the vibrational energy harvester, wherein said harvesting circuitry converts a raw electrical output of the harvester to a form more appropriate for use with onboard electrical systems.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the vibrational energy harvester comprises a cluster of individual energy harvesting devices.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said vibrational energy harvester is located within a primary area having structural elements with vibrational energy;

wherein the vibrational energy is induced in said structural elements due to turbulent airflow caused by shape or positioning of vehicle features or airflow generated by an engine, said airflow impinging on a surface of the vehicle;

said vehicle has a secondary area structurally coupled to, and receiving vibrational energy from said primary area; and

said secondary area has a vibrational energy harvester coupled to a structural element possessing significant vibrational energy within said secondary area.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the maximal displacement node is located on a structural element within a primary area.

8. A method of harvesting vibrational energy from a vehicle, comprising:

identifying a structural element suitable for vibrational energy harvesting;

identifying a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said structural element;

tuning a harvesting device to a frequency of vibration of the substantially maximal vibrational displacement node; and

coupling said harvesting devices to said substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said structural element.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein identifying a structural element suitable for vibrational energy harvesting comprises:

identifying an area of the vehicle suspected to possess significant vibrational energy; and

identifying a structural element within said area, said structural element possessing vibrational energy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein identifying an area of the vehicle suspected to possess the significant vibrational energy comprises:

performing computational fluid dynamic analysis on a model of the vehicle; and

locating areas of strong or turbulent airflow impinging on a surface of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein identifying a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node comprises:

performing finite element analysis on a computer model of the vehicle, utilizing data from flight tests; and

determining locations of the substantially maximal vibrational displacement from results of the finite element analysis.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein:

said harvesting device includes a piezoelectric device; and

tuning said harvesting device comprises modifying a geometry of the piezoelectric device until a resonant frequency of the harvesting devices nearly matches the frequency of vibration of the substantially maximal vibrational displacement node.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying a secondary area having a secondary structural element possessing vibrational energy; and

coupling an additional harvesting device to a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said secondary structural element.

14. A system for harvesting vibrational energy from a wing-to-body fairing panel located in an area adjacent to and generally surrounding a wing-to-fuselage joint area on an aircraft, comprising:

a piezoelectric device placed on said wing-to-body fairing panel, at a substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said panel, and tuned to a resonant frequency of said substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said wing-to-body fairing panel;

said substantially maximal vibrational displacement node being determined by constructing a computer model, obtaining in-flight data gained from in-flight testing, and providing said computer model and the in-flight test data to a finite element analysis program.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the resonant frequency of the piezoelectric device matches a resonant frequency of the substantially maximal vibrational displacement node of said panel, said matching being achieved due to proper selection of thickness, geometry, and method of attachment of the piezoelectric device.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a second piezoelectric device placed on a structural element within a wing-to-body fairing support structure, said wing-to-body fairing support structure coupling said wing-to-body fairing panel to an aircraft skin.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

piezoelectric devices placed on stringers and frames, said stringers and frames located within said aircraft, near the area of said wing-to-body fairing panels.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

piezoelectric devices located at points of direct attachment between said wing-to-body fairing panels and said aircraft skin.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

piezoelectric devices located at points of direct attachment between said wing-to-body fairing support structure and said aircraft skin.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein:

said piezoelectric devices are optimized in terms of operating temperature, based on a temperature of a location of the piezoelectric devices during flight.

21. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a high impedance probe which monitors the health of said piezoelectric devices by checking for changes in voltage or vibrational frequency characteristics.

22. A method for harvesting vibrational energy from wing-to-body fairing panels, comprising:

identifying maximal vibrational displacement nodes of the wing-to-body fairing panels during flight of an aircraft utilizing the wing-to-body fairing panels;

tuning vibrational energy harvesting devices to a resonant frequency of said wing-to-body fairing panels; and

coupling piezoelectric devices to said maximal vibrational displacement nodes of said wing-to-body fairing panels.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

placing piezoelectric devices at the maximal vibrational displacement nodes of the wing-to-body fairing support structures, said wing-to-body fairing support structures coupling said wing-to-body fairing panels to an aircraft skin.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

placing piezoelectric devices at maximal vibrational displacement nodes of stringers and frames, said stringers and frames being located within said aircraft, and located within an area of said wing-to-body fairing panels.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

placing piezoelectric devices at points of direct attachment between wing-to-body fairing support structures connecting said wing-to-body fairing panels to an aircraft skin.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

placing piezoelectric devices at points of direct attachment between wing-to-body fairing support structures and an aircraft skin.