Exploration of power generator law based on droplet self-capacitance effect

This study provides guidance for harvesting energy from large-scale liquid droplets. Harvesting electrical energy from renewable droplets is a better approach to meet the current challenges of energy mix reform, and power generation devices based on the droplet self-capacitance effect are well suited to fulfill this role. However, its output performance varies greatly under different basic conditions. This paper elucidates the impact of key factors such as droplet height, electrode tilt angle, and PTFE film thickness on the output voltage of the droplet self-capacitance effect-based power generation device. The results show that the droplet height is positively correlated with the output voltage in a certain range due to the faster droplet sliding rate. However, when the droplet exceeds a certain height, the output voltage decreases due to droplet deformation. The tilt angle of the electrode is between 15° and 75°. The output voltage increases as the tilt angle increases; however, if the tilt angle is too large or too small, the charge transfer between the droplet and the film cannot be completed, which affects the charge induction time and reduces the output voltage. For the PTFE film thickness and (bottom electrode/PTFE film) area factors, if only a single factor is considered, both can further improve the output performance of the device and neither output curve is linear.