Triboelectric Nanogenerator with a Rotational Freestanding Mode for Multi-directional Vibration Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Harvesting the vibration energy commonly found in engines, air compressors, and other machines is of great significance for energy recovery and reutilization. However, due to the small vibration amplitude and non-single vibration directions, the conventional vibration energy harvesters based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have a low efficiency. In this work, we proposed a TENG with a rotational freestanding mode (RFM-TENG), which can effectively harvest the mechanical vibration energy with a small amplitude, high frequency, and multiple directions. The working principle and performance characteristics of each TENG unit were demonstrated through theoretical analysis and electrical simulations. To further improve the harvest efficiency, we prepared a room-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber (RTV) film doped with high dielectric constant halloysite nanotubes powder as the triboelectric layer, which increased the open-circuit voltage by 100% and the short-circuit current by 85% at an optimal doping ratio of 7 wt %. When the RFM-TENG was installed on an air compressor, it generated an open-circuit voltage of about 60 V and a maximum output power of 45 μW and allowed 30 commercial LEDs to light up simultaneously. RFM-TENG has the advantages of strong nonlinearity, high sensitivity, and multi-directional response and has potential applications in the field of smart factory and digital twin.

Two Degrees of Freedom in Two Directions Structure Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Vibration Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Sensing

“…Figure e shows the FFT analysis of vertical and horizontal TENG output voltage signals, where both can accurately indicate the 25 Hz main vibration frequency of the air compressor. In summary, Table S1 shows a comparison between the TFTD-TENG and other previous studies, ,,− ,,− the TFTD-TENG exhibits relatively higher and unique multidirectional output performance.…”

Stiffness Modulation in Flexible Rotational Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Dual Enhancement of Power and Reliability

“…Chen et al fabricated an R-TENG based on a double friction layer rotating disc structure, producing a peak power density of 1.36 W/m 2 at a rotation speed of 600 rpm [ 12 ]. Generally, these disc-type R-TENGs generate high output power due to their large contact area and effective triboelectrification but require a strong driving force to overcome the sliding friction, which typically results in severe abrasion of the triboelectric layers [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

A Low-Frequency Vibration Sensor Based on Ball Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Marine Pipeline Condition Monitoring

“…Numerous studies have shown that TENG has become a versatile and efficient energy-harvesting and self-powered sensing technology with applications ranging from small-scale portable electronics to large-scale blue energy harvesting [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. TENG has the advantages of low cost, light weight, simple structure, strong environmental compatibility, wide material selection, etc., showing obvious advantages in the field of self-powered vibration sensing technology [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. In this paper, a vibration sensor based on ball TENG (B-TENG) was designed for marine pipelines condition monitoring.…”