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A Wearable Footstep Energy Harvester With Novel Dual-Clutch Mechanical Motion Rectification for Self-Powered Sensing

delete2026-04-21
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PRE
AI
X
Xiangyang Wang
M
Meilin Gu
X
Xingwang Zhou
付海岭 (Hailing Fu)
Y
Yeyun Cai
Z
Ziyue Kong
M
Maobin Lu
邓方 (Fang Deng)
DOI:10.1109/tie.2026.3675109delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Wearable and autonomous sensing systems require efficient energy conversion under low-frequency, bidirectional mechanical excitations generated by daily human motion. This work presents a novel dual-clutch ratchet energy harvester (DREH) that converts bidirectional heel motions into unidirectional high-speed rotation, enabling direct DC power generation without conventional AC–DC rectification losses. The dual-clutch architecture ensures robust motion rectification under weak excitation and enables recovery of elastic potential energy during the liftoff phase, thereby improving effective energy utilization. A coupled dynamic–electromechanical model is developed to analyze the system behavior and predict electrical output. A compact prototype (86.4 cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup>, 89 g) is fabricated and experimentally evaluated under pseudowalk and natural walking conditions. Experimental results show that elastic energy recovery increases output power by 59.5% at 0.3 Hz; at 6 km/h with a 75 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{\Omega}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> load, the prototype delivers 82 mW peak and 28 mW average power with a driving force below 14 N. System-level validation demonstrates continuous operation of a wireless sensing node, confirming the DREH as an effective self-sustained power source for wearable and industrial sensing applications.
Keywords:
Electromechanical energy conversion
low-frequency energy capturing
mechanical energy harvesting
motion rectification
self-powered sensing

Journal

IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics cover
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IF:
7.2
Papers:
1.8W
Citations:
9.8W

Organization

B
beijing institute of technology
Scholars:
5.3W
Papers: 3.9W
Citations: 63
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