The present invention relates to a floating offshore power generation apparatus using an ionic polymer-metal composite, including: a floating body floating on water; an ionic polymer-metal composite that is attached to the floating body and generates electricity by bending in a vertical or horizontal direction according to the flowing state of sea water; a rectification unit that converts, into a direct electric current, the electricity generated in the form of an alternating electric current in the ion polymeric metal composite; and a load unit that is connected to the rectification unit and supplies or stores the produced electricity. According to the present invention, ionic polymer-metal composites having hydrophilicity are attached to one floating body instead of complicated mechanical parts vulnerable to the offshore environment, thereby facilitating maintenance and increasing power generation efficiency per unit area.

A generator moving through a medium has a contacting surface structure relative to a frame with a spring coupled between the two. The contacting surface structure also has an electrogenerative portion coupled to the contacting surface structure and the frame, such as a piezoelectric or electromagnetic structure, although other types of structures are known within the art. The movement of the frame through the medium exerts forces upon the contacting surface structure which causes contacting surface structure movement relative to the base structure through the electrogenerative portion. The spring provides a force upon the contacting surface structure in response to the force from the fluid flow.

Systems and methods for use in capturing energy from natural resources. In one form, the systems and methods capture energy from natural resources, such as movement of fluid in a body of water, and convert it into electrical energy.

A device for harvesting energy from a fluidic flow, including a flexible structure formed by: a base layer; a conductive layer, made of a conductive material and laid on the base layer; and a piezoelectric layer, made of a piezoelectric material and laid on the conductive layer. The base layer, the conductive layer, and the piezoelectric layer form a crystalline structure including a plurality of pseudomorphic portions.

The bluff body attaches to an elastic mount and is capable of generate vortex shedding when the elastic mount orients the bluff body in a flow-line traverse to a fluid flow and vibrates in response to the vortex shedding. A harvester is located within the bluff body and is capable of generating power above a specified threshold in response to the vibration.

A piezoelectric power generator assembly includes a housing, a piezoelectric transducer located in the housing, and a piston located in the housing. The piston is movable with respect to the housing and is configured to be moved into contact with the piezoelectric transducer, and the piezoelectric transducer is configured to generate an electrical charge when contacted by the piston.

The present invention relates to a system for vortex energy harvesting for downhole applications and a method thereof, the system comprising: one or more electro acoustic technology assemblies mounted downhole in close proximity to a fiber optic cable that is part of a fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing system connected back to a surface distributed acoustic sensing interrogator; and one or more vortex energy harvesters attached to each of the electro acoustic technology assemblies and exposed to a fluid flow in the downhole application.

A generator has a surface structure relative to a base structure and capable of being positioned within a field of flow. The surface structure also has an electrogenerative portion positioned relative to the surface structure and the base structure. The electrogenerative portion is preferably a piezoelectric or electromagnetic structure, although other types of structures are known within the art. The field of flow exerts forces upon the surface structure which causes surface structure movement relative to the base structure through the electrogenerative portion. This generates electricity which causes movement in the surface structure.

A power generation device for a mobile body includes power generating units and a holding member. Each power generating unit includes an elastically deformable base member and a piezoelectric film, which are laminated alternately. The holding member holds the power generating units. Each power generating unit has an elongated flat-plate shape. Opposite ends of the power generating unit in a longitudinal direction are held by the holding member such that the power generating unit is in an orientation in which a longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the external fluid. A fixing member is provided at each of the opposite ends in the longitudinal direction of each power generating unit. The power generating units are arranged in the holding member via the fixing members to pivot in accordance with the flow of the external fluid.

Disclosed in the present invention is a dual-rotor microfluidic energy capturing and power generating device based on a piezoelectric effect. An inner ring of blades and an outer ring of blades are coaxially and movably sleeved, and rotate relatively. Sheet-like magnetic piezoelectric components and steel magnets are provided in an annular gap between the inner ring of blades and the outer ring of blades. Magnetic piezoelectric components are connected to an inner peripheral surface of the outer ring of blades, the magnetic piezoelectric components are magnetically repulsive to the steel magnets, and the outer sides of the magnetic piezoelectric components are axially arranged. The inner ring of blades and the outer ring of blades rotate relatively to drive the magnetic piezoelectric components and the steel magnets to rotate relatively, and further drive the magnetic piezoelectric components to oscillate to generate mechanical energy which is then converted into electric energy.