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• Vibro-electric coupling model of the VEH under square wave excitation is established. • The parameter adjusting priority of the VEH system is proposed. • The maximum output power of the proposed system is 2.7 W. • The proposed VEH is suitable for multi-vibration scenarios. Harvesting energy from surrounding vibrations is an effective method for powering various low-power electronic devices. The energy output performance of vibration energy harvesters under some special excitations remains to be investigated. In this paper, a vibration energy harvester (VEH) system based on a rack and pinion mechanism and a bevel gear set is proposed, and a detailed electromechanical coupling modeling of the system under general excitation and square wave excitation is carried out. The energy output characteristics of the proposed system under square wave excitation are explored through simulation and experiment. When the energy output is the target, the priority of adjusting the constituent parameters in the equivalent mass parameter, equivalent damping parameter and equivalent stiffness parameter of the system can be obtained based on the simulation results. The experimental results under periodic square wave excitation force show that the maximum output power of the proposed system is 2.7 W at an amplitude of 4 kN and a frequency of 3 Hz. This is a 55 % increase in the maximum power compared to the sinusoidal excitation under the same conditions. It is demonstrated that the proposed system has great potential to power various low-power electronic devices. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The integration of vibration reduction and energy harvesting for space vehicles is studied. • An electromagnetic-pneumatic regenerative shock absorber is proposed for the first time. • The coupling model of friction-electromagnetic-pneumatic damping is established. • The proposed new regenerative shock absorber has excellent damping smoothness. In recent years, the development of space exploration has attracted much attention. In order to save energy for lunar/mars rover, an electromagnetic-pneumatic regenerative shock absorber (EP-RSA) is proposed in this paper, which can harvest the vibration energy of rovers traveling on rough roads. Structurally, the design of the hybrid regenerative shock absorber includes three modules: vibration input, transmission, and generator. It is worth emphasizing that the transmission module involves pneumatic damping to provide enough damping force and improve the driving comfort for the rover. Mathematical modeling and simulation analysis of the dynamics and energy harvesting characteristics of the EP-RSA are carried out. Finally, the system prototype is manufactured and the dynamic and energy output performance are tested in the bench test environment. The experimental results show that the introduction of pneumatic damping makes the force–displacement curve smoother, and the damping force is increased by nearly 50 times. Meanwhile, the power output results of the system match the simulation results, and the average power can reach 1.26 W, indicating that the proposed EP-RSA is promising for the energy saving and dynamics improvement of the space exploration rover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]