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Origami-based and oscillator design of triboelectric nanogenerators in smart bridge expansion joints for self-powered infrastructure monitoring systems
Chen, Boyue Liang, Yunhao Saafi, Mohamed Credland, Gary
Chen, Boyue
Liang, Yunhao
Saafi, Mohamed
Credland, Gary
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2026-07-15
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Abstract
This paper reports, for the first time, the integration of triboelectric energy nanogenerators (TEGs) into bridge expansion joints to harness traffic-induced mechanical vibrations for sensor self-powering. The smart expansion joint adopts non-resonating origami-based TEGs to generate power from the displacement induced by direct tyre contact (DC-NTEGs), and oscillator origami-based TEGs to harness the residual vibration transmitted outward from the contact regions (RV-OTEGs). A mathematical model was developed to incorporate the origami design into the V-Q-x theory. Benefiting from the compact design, a high power density of 2.81 W/m3 can be obtained from a 10-fold DC-NTEGs under an excitation of 9 mm peak-peak displacement at 5 Hz. The stiffness of the origami structure is displacement dependent, rendering a Duffing nonlinear oscillator with origami structures as structural springs. The resonant frequency of RV-OTEGs increases with the increased spring precompression and excitation magnitude. With a 10 mm precompression on the 10-fold origami structures, the RV-OTEG produces a power density of 0.23 W/m3 at the resonant frequency of 7.5 Hz. Following field-test verification of both energy harvesting performance and structural durability of a smart expansion joint prototype, the origami-based TEGs were numerically evaluated in a full-scale bridge expansion joint. 12 DC-NTEGs and 16 RV-OTEGs were deployed within the joint, excited by a simulated 10-min traffic. With rectification, the DC-NTEGs collectively produce an energy density of 0.60 µJ/g2, and a doubled energy density of 1.14 µJ/g2 is obtained for RV-OTEGs.
Citation
Chen, B., Liang, Y., Saafi, M., & Credland, G. (2026). Origami-based and oscillator design of triboelectric nanogenerators in smart bridge expansion joints for self-powered infrastructure monitoring systems. Energy Conversion and Management, 367, 121914. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121914
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Elsevier
Journal
Energy Conversion and Management
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Article
Language
en
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ISSN
0196-8904
EISSN
1879-2227
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The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by The National Highways, UK, under grant agreement Lancaster University ACP Ref: A107312.