• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.213-218
• /
• 2023

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as a highly promising energy harvesting technology capable of harnessing mechanical energy from various environmental vibrations. Their versatility in material selection and efficient conversion of mechanical energy into electric energy make them particularly attractive. TENGs can serve as a valuable technology for self-powered sensor operation in preparation for the IoT era. Additionally, they demonstrate potential for diverse applications, including energy sources for implanted medical devices (IMDs), neural therapy, and wound healing. In this review, we summarize the potential use of this universally applicable triboelectric energy harvesting technology in the disinfection and blocking of pathogens. By integrating triboelectric energy harvesting technology into human clothing, masks, and other accessories, we propose the possibility of blocking pathogens, along with technologies for removing airborne or waterborne infectious agents. Through this, we suggest that triboelectric energy harvesting technology could be an efficient alternative to existing pathogen removal technologies in the future.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.255-262
• /
• 2016

There has been intense research on self-diagnosis systems in railway applications, since stability and reliability have become more and more significant issues. Wired sensors have been widely used in the railway vehicles, but because of the difficulty in their maintenance and accessibility, they ar not considered for self-diagnosis systems. To have a self-monitoring system, wireless data transmission and self-powered sensors are required. For this purpose, a thermoelectric energy harvesting module that can generate electricity from temperature gradient between the bogie axle box and ambient environment was introduced in this work. The temperature gradient was measured under actual operation conditions, and the behavior of the thermoelectric module with an external load resistance and booster circuits was studied. The proposed energy harvesting system can be applied for wireless sensor nodes in railroad vehicles with optimization of thermal management.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.229-234
• /
• 2016

Self-powered neutron detector (SPND) is being widely used to monitor the reactor core of the nuclear power plants. The SPND contains a neutron-sensitive metallic emitter surrounded by a ceramic insulator. Currently, the vanadium (V) SPND has been being developed to be used in OPR1000 nuclear power plants. Some Monte Carlo simulations were accomplished to calculate the initial sensitivity of vanadium emitter material and alumina insulator with a cylindrical geometry. An MCNP code was used to simulate some factors (neutron self-shielding factor and beta escape probability from the emitter) and space charge effect of an insulator necessary to calculate the sensitivity of vanadium detector. The simulation results were compared with some theoretical and experimental values. The method presented here can be used to analyze the optimum design of the vanadium SPND and contribute to the development of TMI (Top-mount In-core Instrumentation) which might be used in the SMART and SMR.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.378-393
• /
• 2022

As an emerging power generation technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have received increasing attention due to their boundless promise in energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications. The recent rise of soft robotics has sparked widespread enthusiasm for developing flexible and soft sensors and actuators. TENGs have been regarded as promising power sources for driving actuators and self-powered sensors, providing a unique approach for the development of soft robots with soft sensors and actuators. In this review, TENG-based soft robots with different morphologies and different functions are introduced. Among them, the design of biomimetic soft robots that imitate the structure, surface morphology, material properties, and sensing/generating mechanisms of nature has greatly benefited in improving the performance of TENGs. In addition, various bionic soft robots have been well improved compared to previous driving methods due to the simple structure, self-powering characteristics, and tunable output of TENGs. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive review of various studies within specific areas of TENG-enabled soft robotics applications. We first explore various recently developed TENG-based soft robots and a comparative analysis of various device structures, surface morphologies, and nature-inspired materials, and the resulting improvements in TENG performance. Various ubiquitous sensing principles and generation mechanisms used in nature and their analogous artificial TENG designs are demonstrated. Finally, biomimetic applications of TENG enabled in tactile displays as well as in wearable devices, artificial electronic skin and other devices are discussed. System designs, challenges and prospects of TENGs-based sensing and actuation devices in the practical application of soft robotics are analyzed.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.264-270
• /
• 2016

Self-powered neutron detector (SPND) is a sensor to monitor a neutron flux proportional to a reactor power of the nuclear power plants. Since an SPND is usually installed in the reactor core and does not require additional outside power, it generates electrons itself from interaction between neutrons and a neutron-sensitive material called an emitter, such as rhodium and vanadium. This paper presents the simulations of the depletion sensitivity evaluations based on MCNP models of rhodium and vanadium SPNDs and light water reactor fuel assembly. The evaluations include the detail geometries of the detectors and fuel assembly, and the modeling of rhodium and vanadium emitter depletion using MCNP and ORIGEN-S codes, and the realistic energy spectrum of beta rays using BETA-S code. The results of the simulations show that the lifetime of an SPND can be prolonged by using vanadium SPND than rhodium SPND. Also, the methods presented here can be used to analyze a life-time of those SPNDs using various emitter materials.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.371-376
• /
• 2016

A self-powered piezoelectric energy harvester was developed for the application in wireless sensor node. The energy harvester was evaluated with power generation characteristics for the wireless sensor node for structural diagnosis of the electric power system. The self-powered wireless sensor node was set to measure temperature, vibration frequency of the electric power system. A piezoelectric harvester composed of 7 uni-morph cantilevers (functionalized as 6 generators and 1 vibration sensor) was connected to be an array and revealed to produce significantly high output power of approximately 10 mW at 120 Hz under 3.4 g((1 g = $9.8m/sec^2$). The wireless sensor node could work as the electric power generated by the developed piezoelectric harvester.

• Vacuum Magazine
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.17-20
• /
• 2016

Piezoelectric nanogenerators are energy harvesting device to convert a mechanical energy into an electric energy using nanostructured piezoelectric materials. This review summarizes works to date on piezoelectric nanogenerators, starting with a basic theory of piezoelectricity and working mechanism, and moving through the reports of numerous nanogenerators using nanorod arrays, flexible substrates and alternative materials. A sufficient power generated from nanogenerators suggests feasible applications for either power supplies or strain sensors of highly integratedl nano devices. Further development of nanogenerators holds promise for the development of self-powered implantable and wearable electronics.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.364-368
• /
• 2021

We developed a highly efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell with a poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)]:[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester active layer for harvesting lower-intensity indoor light energy to power various self-powered sensor systems that require power in the microwatt range. In order to achieve higher power conversion efficiency (PCE), we first optimized the thickness of the active layer of the OPV cell through optical simulations. Next, we fabricated an OPV cell with optimized active layer thickness. The device exhibited a PCE of 12.23%, open circuit voltage of 0.66 V, short-circuit current density of 97.7 ㎂/cm², and fill factor of 60.53%. Furthermore, the device showed a maximum power density of 45 ㎼/cm², which is suitable for powering a low-power (microwatt range) sensor system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
• /
• 2014.10a
• /
• pp.544-544
• /
• 2014

Energy harvesting technology, which scavenges electric power from ambient, otherwise wasted, energy sources, has been explored to develop self-powered wireless sensors and possibly eliminate the battery replacement cost for wireless sensors. Among ambient energy sources, vibration energy can be converted into electric power through a piezoelectric energy harvester. For the last decade, although tremendous advances have been made in design methodology to maximize harvestable electric power under a given vibration condition, the research in reliability assessment to ensure durability has been stagnant due to the complicated nature of the multiple failure modes of a piezoelectric energy harvester, such as the interfacial delamination, fatigue failure, and dynamic fracture. Therefore, this study presents the first-ever system reliability analysis for multiple failure modes of a piezoelectric energy harvester using the Generalized Complementary Intersection Method (GCIM), while accounts for the energy conversion performance. The GCIM enables to decompose the probabilities of high-order joint failure events into probabilities of complementary intersection events. The electromechanically-coupled analytical model is implemented based on the Kirchhoff plate theory to analyze its output performances of a piezoelectric energy harvester. Since a durable as well as efficient design of a piezoelectric energy harvester is significantly important in sustainably utilizing self-powered electronics, we believe that technical development on system reliability analysis will have an immediate and major impact on piezoelectric energy harvesting technology.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.26 no.9
• /
• pp.1347-1356
• /
• 2022

In this paper, we investigate the properties of CoGe thin film-based galvanic cells as a function of their dimension (cell length, width, etc.) and show their application as sensors to Arduino-based IoT sensor networks to detect water contact. Because these CoGe thin film-based galvanic cells do not require mechanical strains or temperature gradients unlike piezoelectric and thermoelectric energy harvesters, we think that these thin film-based galvanic cells are more suitable for self-powered sensor networks demanding sustainable and robust energy harvesters. In the past, a sputter-deposited CoGe thin film has not been intensively investigated for energy harvesting appilcations. Thus, in this study, we perform a feasibility study of galvanic cells composed of a sputter-deposited CoGe thin film to see if they can be applied as potential self-powered sensors. We believe that this paper will be of great help in developing even more enhanced sensor networks.