Ultrawide-Frequency Vibration Sensor Based on Magnetically Floating Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Vibration sensors play an important role in monitoring mechanical equipment because of their wide application, high precision, and lightweight. The majority of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) vibration sensors now in use, however, are spring-based, which poses issues, including material wear and fatigue as well as a constrained range of measuring frequencies. In this paper, an ultrawide-frequency vibration sensor based on a magnetically floating triboelectric nanogenerator (MF-TENG) is proposed. MF-TENG sensors are based on neodymium magnets with permanent magnetic qualities and low material loss and use a freestanding layer model to determine equipment operation by analyzing the output electrical signals. This design has the advantages of a broad monitoring range, quick reaction, frictionless operation, good stability, and high accuracy. In this study, the influence of different structural parameters on the output performance of the sensors was investigated. Through careful investigation, the parameters that result in the best output electrical signals were identified. Within the vibration frequency range of 2–13,000 Hz, the monitoring data obtained from the vibration sensor with these selected parameters exhibits an error of less than 0.35%. As a wide-frequency vibration sensor, the MF-TENG sensor holds potential application value in the condition monitoring of mechanical equipment.