Energy Harvesting With Single-Sided Linear Induction Machines Featuring Secondary Conductive Coating

With the continuously broadening application area of Internet of Things (IoT), robust energy harvesters and power conditioning units for supplying remote sensors and actuators are gaining importance. A single-sided linear induction machine (SLIM) with solid secondary operating in generator mode could meet these requirements as it can harvest electric energy from the kinetic energy of a moving conductive body (secondary). Therefore, the energy harvesting performance of SLIMs is studied in this paper, using analytical models, which are derived with special attention to the case where a conductive coating is applied on the mover-a simple and practical modification that is shown to increase the harvester performance significantly. Measurements are given for three different secondary materials and stator geometries. It is shown that 15 W of electrical power can be harvested with 14% efficiency over an air gap of 0.5 mm from a copper-coated steel mover with a surface speed of 29 m/s, covering only 17 cm
²
of the surface area.