Kinetic energy harvesting using triboelectric nanogenerator

Concern has grown in recent years about increasing energy consumption and its impact on the environment. This is the reason why governments all over the world are heavily investing in Research and development of energy and the environment. Everything that happens in the world uses energy of one kind

Project Title

Kinetic energy harvesting using triboelectric nanogenerator

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

Concern has grown in recent years about increasing energy consumption and its impact on the environment. This is the reason why governments all over the world are heavily investing in Research and development of energy and the environment. Everything that happens in the world uses energy of one kind or another. Energy is all around us but most of it, especially in the form of mechanical energy, is wasted. Recovering even a fraction of this energy would have a significant economic and environmental impact.

Energy harvesting is the process of storing energy such as vibrational energy, mechanical energy and other forms of ambient energies.

Our motive is to specifically design a kinetic energy harvesting system that turns low-frequency motion, such as human body movements, into electrical energy by using triboelectric nanogenerator and then store it by using a power storing circuit.

This system can be placed in various crowded areas such as airports, public stations, malls, playlands etc. in the form of a small portable pavement or a mat. The electrical energy generated by people’s footsteps in these crowded areas could be harvested and used to power smart electronic devices, wearables, structural monitoring and biomedical devices etc.

Project Objectives

Objective 1: To design and fabricate a Triboelectric Nanogenerator(TENG)

Objective 2: To convert the mechanical energy produced through footsteps into electric power using the TENG.

Objective 3: To convert and store electrical signal using Power Management and Storage circuit.

Objective 4: To supply the stored power to a smart electronic gadget.

Project Implementation Method

For the Triboelectric Nanogenerator(TENG) part, we have to fabricate a generator using a combination of triboelectric materials from the triboelectric series. These materials are then made to come into contact and then released. This process is repeated several times so that charges are produced. These charges are then stored in a battery using Power Management Circuit System (PMS).

For synthesis of the generator, we require thin films of several triboelectric materials. Some of them are commercially available, others are not. In order to fabricate the unavailable thin films, different processes such as spin coating and lithography are used. The materials to be used in the fabrication of TENG include silicone elastomer, aluminium, PET, PTFE, nickel, copper wires, etc. The adhesives used need to be electrically conductive such as silver paste, silicone glue, etc.

After simulations, the hardware of the PMS will be implemented which is comprised of A to D converter, Buck Converter and a system to monitor the charging and discharging of the battery. All the relevant electronic components will be utilized for the implementation of the aforementioned circiuits.

The final product will be in the form of a small pavement or a mat containing TENGs. Instead of placing a single TENG under a footstep, we will place multiple TENGs connected in parallel, in order to achieve a high output current.

Benefits of the Project

  We use many smart Electronic gadgets on a daily basis. All these electronic gadgets need electrical energy either through charging of the battery or through replacement of the battery/cell. During the covid-19 pandemic most of us were on the mercy of some of these gadgets and required electrical power in order for them to function. Many of us faced electrical shortfall of about 2 to 3 days in Monsoon. During that time, we felt a great need of easily available power sources and self-powered electronic devices.

By using TENG we can produce sufficient amount of electrical energy through our motion and other vibrational energies and can store that energy for charging smart electronic devices.

With the trend of low power consumption in electronic devices, we can also make self-powered smart devices by using the TENGs.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Triboelectric nanogenerators give high voltage and low current. They are are mostly used in self powered devices. Our aim is to to increase output current by increasing the the number of nanogenerators under one foot step and connecting them in parallel to get high output current. further more we will design a power management circuit to convert that low frequency AC signal into a continuous DC signal to charge the battery. power management circuit will consist of mainly a rectifier to convert low frequency AC signal to pulsating DC signal , a buck converter to decrease the voltage to the value required by the circuit and the circuit which will charge the battery and cut off the supply when it is fully charged.
The final product will be in the form of a mat having an area of approximately 2 by 3 feet square containing triboelectric nanogenerators inside. Each foot step on mat will charge the battery which will power a weighing machine with a digital display at the least. the device being powered may vary if the output generated is enough to charge other smart electronic devices,

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Energy

Other Industries

Others

Core Technology

Clean Tech

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy

Required Resources

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