Energy harvesting from structural vibrations of magnetic shape memory alloys

This letter presents the idea of scavenging energy from vibrating structures through magnetic shape memory alloy (MSMA). To this end, a MSMA specimen made of Ni₅₀Mn₂₈Ga₂₂ is coupled to a cantilever beam through a step. Two permanent magnets installed at the top and bottom of the beam create a bias field perpendicular to the magnetization axis of the specimen. When vibrating the device, a longitudinal axial load applies on the MSMA, which in turn changes the magnetization, due to the martensitic variant reorientation mechanism. A pick-up coil wounded around the MSMA converts this variation into voltage according to the Faraday's law. Experimental test confirms the possibility of generating voltage in a vibrating MSMA. In particular, 15 μW power is harvested for acceleration of 0.3 g RMS at a frequency of 19.1 Hz, which is comparable with piezoelectric energy harvesters. It is also found that the optimum bias magnetic field for maximum voltage is lower than the starting field of pseudo elastic behavior.