Dr Petr Denissenko is an Associate Professor in Experimental Fluid Dynamics at the University of Warwick, UK. He obtained his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Hull, UK, in 2007, where he also worked as a Research Associate for four years. He graduated from Novosibirsk State University, Russia, with MPhil in Plasma Physics in 1996. His research interests are in Experimental Fluid Dynamics spanning a few areas including multiphase flow in porous media (related to continuous flow c

Abstract：

Aeroelastic energy harvesters are a promising technology for powering wireless sensors and microelectromechanical systems. I present a harvester inspired by the trembling of aspen leaves in barely noticeable winds. The galloping energy harvester, a curved blade oriented perpendicular to the flow, is capable of producing self-sustained oscillations at uncharacteristically low wind speeds.

Dynamics of the harvesting system has been studied experimentally and compared to a lumped parameter model. Numerical simulations quantitatively describe the experimentally observed dynamic behaviour. Flow visualisation is performed to investigate the patterns generated by the device. Dissimilar to many other galloping harvester designs, the flow is found to be attached at the rear surface of the blade when the blade is close to its zero displacement position, hence acting more closely to aerofoils rather than to conventionally used bluff bodies. Simulations of the device combined with a piezoelectric harvesting mechanism predict higher power output than that of a device with the square prism.Further developments, including utilisation of leading-edge vortices, are discussed.