Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2022) 137: 48
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-02235-9

Regular Article

Porosity effect on the energy harvesting behaviour of functionally graded magneto-electro-elastic/fibre-reinforced composite beam

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, 788010, Silchar, Assam, India
² Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, City, University of London, EC1V 0HB, London, United Kingdom

^a vinyas.mahesh@gmail.com, Vinyas@mech.nits.ac.in

Received: 18 October 2021
Accepted: 28 November 2021
Published online: 21 December 2021

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of various porosity distributions on the frequency response behaviour of porous functionally graded MEE (P-FGMEE)/fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) energy harvesters subjected to transverse vibration. The proposed system consists of a cantilever beam of two layers: a P-FGMEE layer on the top, with a FRC substrate layer below. A lumped parameter single degree of freedom model (SDOF) is used to represent the dynamic behaviour of the vibration-based energy harvesting system. Two forms of functional gradation of the P-FGMEE layer, such as ‘B’-rich bottom and ‘F’-rich bottom, are designed using modified power law. On the other hand, the effect of different FRC substrates such as carbon/epoxy, aramid/epoxy, glass/epoxy and boron/epoxy on the overall performance of the energy harvester beam system has been studied. An electrode circuit at the one end of the beam is used to extract the electric voltage produced, while a coil at the other end of the beam is used to harvest the magnetic potential produced. The coupled governing differential equations are derived using Gauss’s law, Newton’s law and Faraday’s law. The effects of main parameters such as porosity pattern, porosity volume, gradient index and the functionally graded pattern on the system’s output response are investigated. In addition, the influence of geometric dimensions of the system on the output values is also discussed. The results of this article can be effectively utilized for the accurate design of different energy harvesting systems using porous composite materials.