Nonlinear Energy Harvesting from Random Narrow-Band Excitations

The efficiency of linear and nonlinear harvesters with different types of nonlinearity is compared. Narrow band ambient vibrations are modeled by harmonic Gaussian noise. We show that the performance of nonlinear harvesters strongly depends on both the form of nonlinearity and the properties of the noise. Particular forms of nonlinearities which can produce a better than linear response are identified, and these depend on the spectral width of the harmonic noise.