Triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid generator with swing-blade structures for effectively harvesting distributed wind energy in urban environments

Abstract

The wind energy in cities cannot be exploited effectively because natural wind is unstable and complex. Therefore, a triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid generator with swing-blade structures (SBS-TEHG) was designed to effectively harvest intermittent and continuous wind energy in an urban environment. First, the spring structure and base were considered to realize the maximum output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators. Then, the computational fluid dynamics method was applied to optimize the structure of the SBS-TEHG to improve its aerodynamic performance. The starting wind speed of the SBS-TEHG was 2 m/s, and its energy conversion efficiency was 9.04%, 159% higher than that of the SBS-TEHG without guide plates at 4 m/s. The results demonstrated that the SBS-TEHG lit 105 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) under the intermittent-wind harvesting mode at a wind frequency of 1 Hz when the single swing blade operated, while a wireless PM2.5 & PM10 sensor was powered by the SBS-TEHG after a period of operation under the continuous-wind harvesting mode. The findings of this study provide a novel solution for low-speed wind energy harvesting in cities and demonstrate the potential of SBS-TEHG as a distributed energy source.