Vibrational tests of a system with two coupled beams and a distributed tip mass

Abstract

We present the dynamical response of a nonlinear system designed for vibrational energy harvesting. The mechanical resonator is composed of two steel beams. The beams are coupled by a screw together at the ends with various distance element. Additionally, two piezoelectric patches are placed on their surface giving output powers on electric loads. In the article, we examine the output powers and dynamics of the system for variable frequency, different sizes of distance elements and several tip mass distributions.