Self-powered circular-honeycomb triboelectric nanogenerator for vibration energy harvesting and resonance detection of synchronous machine

It is worthwhile to efficiently and cost-effectively capture the vibration energy in the operation of rotating machinery and convert it from mechanical energy to electrical power for a specific application. Currently, triboelectric nanogenerators as vibration energy harvesters are mainly studied for the start and stop of mechanical equipment but less for its resonance. In this paper, a self-powered circular-honeycomb triboelectric nanogenerator (CH-TENG) is proposed as a vibration energy harvester. Firstly, tests are carried out on a Vibration Platform to obtain the output performance of CH-TENG at different excitation amplitudes, frequencies, and accelerations. The factors affecting the output of CH-TENG are then summarized. Stability experiments are also carried out to verify the stability of CH-TENG. Secondly, the CH-TENG is applied on a 7.5 kW convex pole synchronous machine to verify its practicality. Finally, the homemade CH-TENG is improved with springs installed at the bottom to amplify the vibration energy amplitude. The experimental results show that the synchronous machine will have apparent voltage and current output pulses when it reaches the resonance frequency. It indicates that the CH-TENG can be used not only as a vibration energy harvester but also for detecting the resonance state of a synchronous machine, which has significant potential for monitoring resonance faults of the machine when it is at service.