Triboelectric nanogenerators as self-powered acceleration sensor under high-g impact

In the field of automobiles and many other industries, there is an urgent demand for the sensing of high-g acceleration. In this paper, a self-powered high-g acceleration sensor based on a triboelectric nanogenerator is proposed for the first time. It is micro-fabricated with a total volume of 14×14×8mm3, and its sensing ability is confirmed via a Machete hammer experiment, with a measurement range of up to 1.8×104g, a sensitivity of 1.8 mV/g, and a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.99959. In addition, the output signal of this novel acceleration sensor has few clutters, which is beneficial for recognition and subsequent signal processing. The effects of the aluminum-electrode thickness on the sensitivity and linearity of the sensor are investigated via modeling, theoretical analysis, and experiment, providing a reliable basis for the parameter optimization of the structural design. Experiment results indicate that this novel acceleration sensor covers a wide measurement range and meets the urgent needs of monitoring various high-g impacts for military equipment and automobiles.