Dual-mode acceleration sensor of downhole drilling tools based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Downhole vibration is important for the judgment of the drilling tool conditions and the formulation of drilling technology. To meet the demand of downhole drilling tools acceleration measurement, this research proposes a self-powered acceleration sensor with two working modes based on the triboelectric nanogenerator, namely, mode A, which is based on the voltage response acceleration trend and mode B, which judges the acceleration based on the output pulses. Test results show that the acceleration measurement range is 0–11 m/s2, the maximum output voltage amplitude can reach 15.3 V, the working environment temperature is less than 250 °C, the working environment humidity is less than 90%, and long-time working has almost no effect on the output voltage of the sensor. In addition, since the sensor will generate electrical energy during the vibration process, the power generation performance of the sensor has been tested. And the results show that the maximum output power of the sensor is 0.18 µW when a 1000 MΩ load is connected in series. Compared to traditional downhole sensors, the sensor is more flexible, because it can work normally at high temperatures and has the potential for being self-powered.