The wind-driven Scotch yoke-based triboelectric nanogenerator system for energy harvesting

There has been much effort to use renewable energy sources because conventional fossil fuel energy significantly threatens the sustainability of the globe. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been studied as a versatile system for harnessing renewable energy sources from the surrounding environment. In this study, the wind-driven Scotch yoke-based TENG (WSTENG) system was introduced to harness wind power. The WSTENG system consisted of propeller blades, the Scotch yoke, and multiple TENG pairs. The Scotch yoke converted the rotational motion of propeller blades into the linear reciprocating motion so that the WSTENG system enabled TENG pairs to operate in the contact-and-separation (CS) mode with a strong compressing force by the wind. Multiple TENG pairs showed a linear increase in electrical outputs with an increase in the number of TENG pairs. The short circuit current increased with the wind speed, which linearly corresponded to the CS frequency of TENG pairs. Interestingly, the open-circuit voltage also increased with the CS frequency. This was because the compressing force to TENG pairs in the WSTENG system increases due to the increase in the rotational energy of propeller blades by the increased wind speed. Reduction in the CS gap distance also effectively increased electrical outputs by increasing the compressing force. In this study, the WSTENG system generated 60 V of the open-circuit voltage and 7 mu A of the short circuit current, respectively. And the system could light 37 light-emitting diodes and charged a 10-mu F capacitor in the natural wind condition.

Automated summary

This study introduces a Scotch yoke-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) system that harnesses wind power. The system converts the rotational motion of propeller blades into linear reciprocating motion, enabling the TENG pairs to operate in the contact-and-separation mode with a strong compressing force. The electrical output of the system increases linearly with the number of TENG pairs.