This paper presents a novel tunable multi-frequency hybrid energy harvester (HEH). It consists of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) and an electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH), which are coupled with magnetic interaction. An electromechanical coupling model was developed and numerically simulated. The effects of magnetic force, mass ratio, stiffness ratio, and mechanical damping ratios on the output power were investigated. A prototype was fabricated and characterized by experiments. The measured first peak power increases by 16.7% and 833.3% compared with that of the multi-frequency EMEH and the multi-frequency PEH, respectively. It is 2.36 times more than the combined output power of the linear PEH and linear EMEH at 22.6 Hz. The half-power bandwidth for the first peak power is also broadened. Numerical results agree well with the experimental data. It is indicated that magnetic interaction can tune the resonant frequencies. Both magnetic coupling configuration and hybrid conversion mechanism contribute to enhancing the output power and widening the operation bandwidth. The magnitude and direction of magnetic force have significant effects on the performance of the HEH. This proposed HEH is an effective approach to improve the generating performance of the micro-scale energy harvesting devices in low-frequency range.

A novel piezoelectric energy harvester equipped with two piezoelectric beams and two cylinders was proposed in this work. The energy harvester can convert the kinetic energy of water into electrical energy by means of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and wake-induced vibration (WIV). The effects of load resistance, water velocity and cylinder diameter on the performance of the harvester were investigated. It was found that the vibration of the upstream cylinder was VIV which enhanced the energy harvesting capacity of the upstream piezoelectric beam. As for the downstream cylinder, both VIV and the WIV could be obtained. The VIV was found with small L/D, e.g., 2.125, 2.28, 2.5, and 2.8. Additionally, the WIV was stimulated with the increase of L/D (such as 3.25, 4, and 5.5). Due to the WIV, the downstream beam presented better performance in energy harvesting with the increase of water velocity. Furthermore, it revealed that more electrical energy could be obtained by appropriately matching the resistance and the diameter of the cylinder. With optimal resistance (170 kΩ) and diameter of the cylinder (30 mm), the maximum output power of 21.86 μW (sum of both piezoelectric beams) was obtained at a water velocity of 0.31 m/s.

Active reducing the skin friction drag of vehicles (such as missiles, rockets, aircraft, high-speed train, submarines, etc.) during the navigation process can improve the respond speed effectively, save the energy consumption and increase the endurance time. As lots of active drag reduction methods were proposed for different applications, a review article is urgently needed to guide researchers to choose suitable methods for their pre-research. In this review, the generation mechanisms of skin friction drag under the action of disturbing the turbulent boundary layer are discussed, and the main active drag reduction methods are summarized. According to the actuation modes, we divided the active drag reduction methods into: drag reduction based on wall motion; drag reduction based on volume force control; drag reduction based on wall deformation and drag reduction based on micro vibration generated by piezoelectric actuator. The development status, drag reduction mechanisms, typical structures and drag reduction performance of each active drag reduction method are discussed and summarized in this work, which can provide preliminary research references for those who are engaged in the research of active wall drag reduction.

Flow-induced energy harvesting has attracted more and more attention among researchers in both fields of the wind and the fluid. Piezoelectric energy harvesters and triboelectric nanogenerators are exploited to obtain superior performance and sustainability, and the electromagnetic conversion has been continuously improved in the meantime. Aiming at different circumstances, researchers have designed, manufactured, and tested a variety of energy harvesters. In this paper, we analyze the state-of-the-art energy harvesting techniques and categorize them based on the working environment, application targets, and energy conversion mechanisms. The trend of research endeavors is analyzed, and the advantages, existing problems of energy harvesters, and corresponding solutions of energy harvesters are assessed.