DB-TENG Model Development

In recent years a significant amount of research has been done on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), with recent studies achieving energy outputs comparable to solar cells. One such device is the single electrode mode droplet-based TENG (DB-TENG). These devices harvest the energy from raindrops, with some achieving energy outputs significant enough to light 100 LEDs with one droplet. These devices have many potential applications, however, exploring them can be cumbersome as simulated models of these devices have not yet been developed. This study aimed to fix this issue by developing the first DB-TENG model, with the intention of creating a foundation model that future researchers could build on and further improve. This was achieved in three stages; first, was the design and fabrication of physical DB-TENG devices along with their housing structure; second, was the development of a ‘Contact Area Calculator’ which utilized image processing techniques to calculate the contact areas required for the model; the final stage was to construct the equivalent circuit in ‘Simulink’ and synchronize the capacitance values with each drop simulated. The model produced could predict the time intervals at which the voltage spikes occurred in the output of the physical rig; however, it was found that the models' energy output significantly underperformed. This model shows that these devices can be modelled somewhat accurately and could provide future researchers with the tools needed for understanding, designing, and analysing these devices.