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 method and apparatus for producing electricity from a combination of three sources: ocean waves, wind and solar, includes converting an upward and downward motion of a buoyant platform into a rotational motion of a shaft using a plurality of blades mounted to the shaft, the blades causing the shaft to rotate from internal wind energy as the blades move up and down within a cavity. The shaft is coupled to a generator for producing electricity. A wind turbine is mounted to the buoyant platform for converting wind energy into electricity. Further, solar panels are included, for example, mounted to the buoyant platform and/or turbine blades of the wind turbine, the solar panels also generate electricity when exposed to light.

A floating piezoelectric assembly for generating energy from waves is provided. The assembly includes a flexible buoyant planar member, an elastic planar member coupled to the same, and two spaced-apart layers of piezoelectric elements extending on and firmly attaching to the top and bottom of the elastic planar member. The elements of a first of the layers are staggered relative to the elements of a second of the layers. The assembly includes a weighted planar member coupled to the buoyant planar member. According to a second aspect, the assembly comprises a first plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart elongate buoyant planar members, a second plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart elongate buoyant planar members, and a series of piezoelectric elements extending between the first and second plurality of buoyant planar members. The assembly further includes a plurality of elastic planar members to which respective ones of the piezoelectric elements couple.

A mobile manipulator robot having a pneumatic charging system. The mobile robot includes an energy source and a charging system to charge the energy source. The charging system includes a coupler having a mating end configured to mate with an external pneumatic supply system to access a pneumatic supply and a pneumatic actuator disposed downstream of the coupler. The pneumatic actuator is configured to convert energy from the pneumatic supply to charge the energy source. The pneumatic actuator may be an air motor or a piezo.

A downhole energy harvesting apparatus comprising a fluidic oscillator comprising: an inlet channel configured to receive fluid from a wellbore, a feedback system coupled to the inlet channel to oscillate the fluid, and an outlet channel coupled to the feedback system and configured to receive the oscillated fluid from the feedback system, and at least one piezoelectric element disposed on at least one side of the outlet channel and configured to generate an electric signal in response to variations in pressure of the oscillated fluid.

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 wind power generation system including a power generation unit having an elastically deformable base material in a shape of a longitudinal flat plate and a piezoelectric element disposed on the base material, and which generates electricity as the power generation unit is vibrated; the piezoelectric element is repeatedly bent and deformed by the vibration and stacked on the base material, the wind power generation system being configured to include a tension adjusting device that, when a wind speed is increased, moves the movable member to increase a tensile force that pulls the power generation unit in the longitudinal direction, and the tension adjusting device being a lift generating member that is formed integrally with the movable member so as to be extended and to have wing shape to both sides of the movable member and that moves the movable member based on lift generated according to the wind speed.

A downhole power generation device and a separate-zone waterflooding device which relate to the field of oil and gas development technologies. The downhole power generation device comprises a housing extended axially and a rotating wheel, a striking mechanism and a piezoelectric bimorph provided in the housing. The piezoelectric bimorph is axially extended and circumferentially distributed around an axis of the housing, with one end of the piezoelectric bimorph being fixed. The rotating wheel is in transmission connection with the striking mechanism and can be rotated by fluid to drive the striking mechanism to rotate. The striking mechanism can touch the other end of the piezoelectric bimorph during rotation so that the piezoelectric bimorph vibrates back and forth. The present device can collect the energy for waterflooding so as to provide stable and continuous electric energy, thereby prolonging or even avoiding the replacement of the downhole power supply equipment.

A fluid-induced vibration energy harvesting apparatus with a non-rotating bluff body is provided. The apparatus does not use a common design method of rigidly securing a bluff body to an elastic beam in a design of the bluff body, but adopts a manner of connecting the bluff body and the elastic beam through a rotating shaft and a connecting shaft. Because a kinematic pair at a connection position is a rotating pair, the bluff body will only vibrate transversely and will not rotate, thereby achieving an effect of increasing an amplitude at the same frequency, and finally realizing an increase of converted electric energy and improving the conversion efficiency.

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.