Experimental energy harvesting from fluid flow by using two vibrating masses

In this study, an experiment was performed to determine how the addition of a second degree of freedom to a vibratory system affects its energy extraction from a surrounding fluid flow. A circular cylinder was submerged underwater and subjected to flow, and another cylinder mounted on springs was inserted between the submerged cylinder and a generator. The experiment results demonstrated that vortex-induced vibration occurred at frequencies that were locked-in to the first and second natural modes for reduced velocity ranges of 5.0-9.0 and greater than 12.0, respectively. The output voltages were particularly high when the vibration frequency was locked-in to that of the second natural mode. It was found that application of energy extraction using a system with two degrees of freedom can widen the range of reduced velocity within which power extraction is effective.