An impeller-actuated triboelectric nanogenerator with rotary soft-contact separation mode for wind vector sensing

Abstract

With the advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) sensors have emerged as a research focus in green and sustainable development applications. This study developed a wind vector sensing system, incorporating an impeller-actuated rotary soft-contact separation wind speed sensor (RSCS-TENG) and a dual-channel wind direction sensor (WD-TENG), to achieve subtle wind speed variation detection and real-time directional identification. The RSCS-TENG employs a unique friction mode to balance between electrical signal output and sensing performance. The application of flexible materials to the rotor's high-curvature arc surface enlarges the effective tribological contact area. The WD-TENG monitors trigger voltages to dynamically update channel markers. This enables precise detection of four wind directions based on predefined mapping relationships between binary sequences and directional orientations. Experimental results confirmed the system's capability to respond to wind vector signals within approximately 200 ms, achieving rapid and accurate simultaneous monitoring of wind speed and direction. Compared to the commercial sensor, the RSCS-TENG exhibited a minimal average wind speed measurement error of 0.1631 m s⁻¹ within the 1.85–7.7 m s⁻¹ range and demonstrated enhanced stability in measurement outputs. Notably, the sensor uniformly captured subtle wind speed variations spanning −0.41 to 0.65 m s⁻¹ while maintaining high measurement accuracy. Furthermore, the RSCS-TENG showed a minimal voltage reduction of only 4.3% under high-humidity conditions. After continuous ∼1 520 400 cycling tests, no degradation trend in voltage output was observed. Consequently, the developed TENG-based wind vector sensing system offers significant advantages, thereby facilitating broader implementation of wind vector sensing technologies in IoT applications.