An Optimization Approach for Contact-Separation Triboelectric Nanogenerator Harvesting Bridge Vibrations

PurposeKinetic vibration energy from bridges under traffic excitations and human activity is extensively recognized as an alternative energy for the threat of energy crisis.MethodsIn this study, we propose a simple-structure contact-separation TENG applied to the bridge environments for converting this low-frequency vibrational energy into electrical power, which is utilized to develop the new scaling laws considering the effects of the host structure and the energy harvester coherently.ResultsLaboratory tests are established to prove its feasibility as a high-output performance harvester and investigate how the factors influence the output performance, especially considering the frequency of the host. To simulate the TENG's working mechanism theoretically, a series of output expressions, mainly including dimensionless expressions composed of two compound variables, are carried out. These novel and simple scaling laws consisting of two dimensionless variables are used to analyze the simultaneous effects on the output performance of all critical parameters. More importantly, the effects of the dynamic and structural characteristics of the host structure are considered with the proposed scaling laws.ConclusionsThis significant contribution could offer general optimization guidance of the contact-separation TENG for acquiring optimal output performance by considering the integration of the TENGs and the host structure.