Nonlinear Analysis and Solution for an Overhead Line Magnetic Energy Harvester with an Active Rectifier

Recently, there has been a significant focus on developing various energy harvesting technologies to power remote electronic sensors, data loggers, and communication devices for smart grid systems. Among these technologies, magnetic energy harvesting stands out as one straightforward method to extract substantial power from current-carrying overhead lines. Due to the relatively small size of the harvester, the high currents in the distribution system quickly saturate its magnetic core. Consequently, the magnetic harvester operates in a highly nonlinear manner. The nonlinear nature of the downstream AC to DC converters further complicates the process, making precise analytical modeling a challenging task. In this paper, a clamped type overhead line magnetic energy harvester with a controlled active rectifier generating significant DC output power is investigated. A piecewise nonlinear analytical model of the magnetic harvester is derived and reported. The modeling approach is based on the application of the Froelich equation. The chosen approximation method allowed for a complete piecewise nonlinear analytical treatise of the harvester’s behavior. The main findings of this study include a closed-form solution that accounts for both the core and rectifiers’ nonlinearities and provides an accurate quantitative prediction of the harvester’s key parameters such as the transfer window width, optimal pulse location, average DC output current, and average output power. To facilitate the study, a nonlinear model of the core was developed in simulation software, based on parameters extracted from core experimental data. Furthermore, theoretical predictions were verified through comparison with a computer simulation and experimental results of a laboratory prototype harvester. Good agreement between the theoretical, simulation, and experimental results was found.