A synergetic hybrid mechanism of piezoelectric and triboelectric for galloping wind energy harvesting

Abstract

Small-scale wind energy harvesting, which can replace batteries to power small electronic devices and realize self-powered systems, has been extensively studied. To improve the working wind-speed range and output power of small-scale wind energy generation systems, we propose a synergetic hybrid piezoelectric and triboelectric mechanism for galloping wind energy harvesting. In this mechanism, a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) works in the vibration area and starts working at low wind speeds, while triboelectric nanogenerators work at the vibration boundaries and cooperate with the PEH at high wind speeds. The triboelectric nanogenerator boundaries can (1) constrain the maximum deformation of the beam at high wind speeds to avoid damage to the PEH, (2) increase the vibration frequency to enhance the electromechanical conversion efficiency, and (3) allow the PEH to have a low equivalent stiffness to work effectively at low wind speeds. A dynamic model is presented to characterize the synergetic hybrid piezoelectric–triboelectric wind energy harvester (SHPTWEH) and this is verified by experiments. The results show that the triboelectric nanogenerator boundaries greatly expand the effective working wind-speed range, and the total average power output by the prototype SHPTWEH was 0.24 mW at a wind speed of 14 m/s, which was 2.3 times that of the PEH alone.

A Triboelectric–Electromagnetic Hybrid Nanogenerator with Broadband Working Range for Wind Energy Harvesting and a Self-Powered Wind Speed Sensor

“…Hybridizing a TENG with other energy-harvesting technologies, such as piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs), − solar cells, and electromagnetic generators (EMGs), − is a better strategy to alleviate this troublesome issue in the short term. Among them, the combination of EMGs and TENGs can provide preferable energy conversion efficiency and complement their respective advantages. − A theoretical comparison between TENGs and EMGs was reported by Zhang et al, which indicated a comparative and symmetric relationship between EMG and TENG .…”

Breeze-Wind-Energy-Powered Autonomous Wireless Anemometer Based on Rolling Contact-Electrification

“…Wind as a kind of widely distributed and renewable energy has played a significant role in electric supply and contributed to alleviate the energy crisis. − According to statistics, the exploitable part of global wind energy is up to 5.3 × 10 13 kWh per year. − On the other hand, the anemometer is a powerful device for wind monitoring and weather forecasting that usually works in unattended environment and needs a long service life. Up to now, the anemometer is mainly supplied by short-term battery, which greatly increases the maintenance cost and environmental pollution. − Therefore, harvesting wind energy from the ambient environment to power the anemometer is an optimal method to realize sustainable operation.…”

Fabrication and application of biocompatible nanogenerators

“…Integrating different nanogenerators into one hybrid device is another way to harvest different forms of environmental energy (Chen et al, 2017a;Jurado et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020aWang et al, , 2020b. Among them, hybrid triboelectric-piezoelectric hybrid nanogenerators have been successfully prepared and widely applied in various fields.…”