International Conference on Engineering Vibration, Sofia, Bulgaria, International Conference on Engineering Vibration 2017

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PREPARATION OF TRIBOELECTRIC NANOGENERATOR VIA ELECTROSPINNING AND ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AS SELF-POWER FORCE SENSOR
Cristobal Garcia

Last modified: 2017-11-27

Abstract


Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) are used to harvest mechanical energy from the triboelectric effect, also known as “contact electrification”. These energy harvesting devices convert mechanical energy from the contact and the friction between two materials, which become electrically charged as a result of their frictional contact. This work investigates the preparation of a triboelectric nanogenerator, which is further subjected to some initial tests to investigate its potential applications as a force sensor. The paper introduces first the preparation of the nanogenerator using two different polymer nano-fibers. Electrospinning was used to prepare all membranes with polymer nano-fibers. To prepare the device, both nanofiber materials were sandwiched between copper electrode films and wrapped on PET film. Two possible triboelectric nano-generators are developed and studies. After the preparation each of the nano-generators is subjected to various force types to check their sensitivity. The electrical response of the nanogenerators to forces is measured. Both sensors demonstrate sensitivity to compression forces applied using dynamic mechanic analysis (DMA). The results of the tests are presented and discussed. The main contributions of this work are the development of a novel triboelectric energy harvesting device and its potential applications as a self-power force sensor.