Damping Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Stay Cables Vibration Energy Graded Harvesting

The stay cable is susceptible to external loads resulting in vibration. Aiming at the large variation of vibration amplitude of stay cable, a damping structured triboelectric nanogenerator (DS‐TENG) for stay cables vibration energy graded harvesting is proposed. The DS‐TENG can not only achieve the graded harvesting of vibration energy, but also provide adjustable additional damping for the cable by utilizing the friction force generated by the wavy center pole and the moving block. With a vibration magnitude of 24 mm as the limit, the DS‐TENG is divided into two order states. The experimental results suggest that the output of the DS‐TENG is 250 V and 42 μA of unit I, and 440 V and 110 μA of unit II. Application demonstration experiments show that the DS‐TENG can power a thermohygrometer and can generate a maximum additional damping force of 91.8 N. In the second‐order state, the DS‐TENG illuminates twice as many light‐emitting diodes as it does in the first‐order state. And experiments demonstrate the ability of the DS‐TENG to operate in harsh environments such as bridges. This work provides important guidance and reference for vibration energy harvesting and cable vibration reduction of stay cable bridges.