Low-cost pedestrian-powered energy harvesting flooring triboelectric generator

Authors

Phil Joshua O. Santiago ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila
Andrew H. Chen ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila
Bryon A. Young ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila
Jeremias A. Gonzaga ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila
Joseph Aldrin T. Chua ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila
Jose M. Esmeria Jr. ⋅ PH Central Instrumentation Facility, De La Salle University, Laguna Campus
Laurence A. Gan Lim ⋅ PH Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila

Abstract

This paper presents a design and fabrication of a low-cost flooring device that harvests electrical energy. The device uses a triboelectric vertical contact separation (VCS) mechanism. The prototype consists of three 120 mm x 120 mm dielectric materials chosen with opposite charge affinity in the triboelectric series. A rectangular kiln-dried pine wood (palotsina) plyboard was used as a stepping board. The assembly is separated by an air gap of 10 mm in height using a compression spring supported by a center dowel. The upper dielectrics are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with cellulose-based plastic acetate, and the lower dielectric is a composite mica sheet. A 0.5 mm thick copper tape is attached to the upper and lower dielectric, which serves as an electrode. The test was performed using a digital oscilloscope connected to the load resistor of the device. The experiment showed that the prototype could generate 152 V measured through a 10 MΩ load resistor. The output voltage is proportional to the body weight stepping on the device. Also, stepping on nine different location points of the flooring device showed the center point yielded the highest output.

About the Speaker

Phil Joshua O. Santiago, Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, Manila

Downloads

Issue

2022: Proceedings of the 40th Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas Physics Conference

Article ID

SPP-2022-1E-04

Section

Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science

Published

2022-09-27

How to Cite

[1]

PJO Santiago, AH Chen, BA Young, JA Gonzaga, JAT Chua, JM Esmeria, and LA Gan Lim, Low-cost pedestrian-powered energy harvesting flooring triboelectric generator, Proceedings of the Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas 40, SPP-2022-1E-04 (2022). URL: https://proceedings.spp-online.org/article/view/SPP-2022-1E-04.