Differential triboelectric nanogenerator for transmission line vibration suppression and energy harvesting in the grid

Abstract The large vibration of the transmission line caused by wind and ice has brought about significant damage to the grid. The transmission line maintenance has a huge demand on energy supply. Therefore, a differential triboelectric nanogenerator (Di-TENG) for suppressing line vibration and energy harvesting is proposed, designed, analyzed and tested. The Di-TENG mainly consists of two fixed pulleys, two flexible steel cables, two pull springs, one generator unit and two guide rails. A model of the line covered with ice is established and theoretical analysis of the transmission line vibration suppression is implemented. The energy harvesting performance of the Di-TENG is also investigated. An energy harvesting performance testing platform and a transmission line oscillation system were built in the laboratory environment. A practical experiment was conducted on a real transmission line system. The experimental results show that the Di-TENG can decrease the vibration of an ice-covered transmission line by up to 28%. The Di-TENG can generate an open-circuit voltage of 180 V, a short-circuit current of 6.6 μ A and a transfer charge of 73 nC, and a peak power of 0.73 mW. This study demonstrates the potential application of the Di-TENG for vibration suppression and energy harvesting in the grid. The Di-TENG provides new ideas for self-powered systems based on transmission lines.