Bio-inspired vibration isolator with triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered monitoring

Vibration isolators are used in many engineering projects, but their real-time monitoring and early warning still a challenge. This paper presents a novel bio-inspired vibration isolator with triboelectric nanogenerator (BVI-TENG), which can be applied on vibration isolation and structural health monitoring. To find the optimal combination of parameters to achieve quasi-zero stiffness, the relationships between the force–displacement and the stiffness-displacement are investigated. After establishing the dynamic model, the effects of the different parameters on the amplitude-frequency are explored by using the harmonic balanced method. To explore the vibration isolation performance, the force transmissibility is analyzed. It was found that BVI-TENG can isolate the low-frequency and even ultra-low frequency vibration. By setting up and testing the experimental prototype, the theoretical results are verified. The energy harvesting performance of BVI-TENG is investigated by analyzing the output current, output voltage and transfer charge under different frequency. By tuning the loading resistance, the maximum output power of BVI-TENG is found. More importantly, the structural health monitoring part of the BVI-TENG produces AC signal in the safe region, which can be harvested and stored, and the signal transforms immediately into DC signal when out from this region. The performances demonstrate that the BVI-TENG can be applied to vibration isolation and serves as a self-powered structural health monitoring device to meet the needs of the civil engineering, ocean platform, and industrial robot. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd