Design, simulation, and experimental characterization of a heaving triboelectric-electromagnetic wave energy harvester

Abstract

Hybridization of triboelectric (TENG) and electromagnetic (EMG) generators has recently shown to be an effective approach toward harvesting water wave energy. Therefore, it is critical to develop efficient hybrid TENG-EMG designs for this application. This paper presents a hybrid TENG-EMG energy harvester based on heaving wave-energy point absorber which can be potentially used for harvesting energy of waves. The design employs linear tubular EMG unit in conjunction with grating structured freestanding mode TENG. The mechanism of a heaving buoy is taken into the account to apply the energy of water waves into the harvester. The adopted EMG mechanism is a relatively simple and highly efficient configuration and the freestanding grating TENG is very effective due to the use of multiple segments and fixed electrodes. Initially, the working mechanism of the device is theoretically simulated to show the practicality of the design. Then, the output performance of the fabricated device is fully investigated under various dynamical experiments. The energy output capability of the proposed device is demonstrated considering different electrical loads. Accordingly, the phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3 of the EMG part obtains the maximum average power density of 170Wm−3,220Wm−3, and 130Wm−3, respectively. Also, the TENG unit achieves the maximum average power density of 120Wm−3. Finally, the practical application of the hybrid system for charging storage units, lighting light-emitting diodes, and powering a sensor is proved. In fact, the proposed device offers a very cost-effective, simple structure, and effective system which is potentially useful for the blue energy extraction.