%0 Journal Article
%T An Experimental and Computational Study on Inverted Flag Dynamics for Simultaneous Wind¨CSolar Energy Harvesting
%A Alistair Revell
%A Andrea Cioncolini
%A Jorge Silva-Leon
%A Joseph O¡¯Connor
%A Mostafa R.A. Nabawy
%J -
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids4020087
%X Abstract This paper presents results from experiments and simplified numerical simulations on the flow-induced dynamics and power generation of inverted flags that combine flexible piezoelectric strips with photovoltaic cells to simultaneously harvest kinetic wind energy and solar radiant energy. Experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel under controlled wind excitation and light exposure, focusing in particular on the dynamics and power generation of the inverted flag harvester. Numerical simulations were carried out using a lattice-Boltzmann fluid solver coupled with a finite element structural solver via the immersed-boundary method, focusing in particular on minimizing the simulation run time. The power generated during the tests shows that the proposed inverted flag harvester is a promising concept, capable of producing enough power (on the order of 1 mW) to supply low-power electronic devices in a range of applications where distributed power generation is needed. Notwithstanding key simplifications implemented in the numerical model to achieve a fast execution, simulations and measurements are in good agreement, confirming that the lattice-Boltzmann method is a viable and time-effective alternative to classic Navier¨CStokes-based solvers when dealing with strongly coupled fluid¨Cstructure interaction problems characterized by large structural displacements. View Full-Tex
%K inverted flag
%K fluid¨Cstructure interaction
%K experiment
%K simulation
%K energy harvesting
%K wind energy
%K solar energy
%K lattice Boltzmann
%K flexible structure
%U https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/4/2/87