A triboelectric nanogenerator implemented with an acoustic foam for a self-driven silent tire

Abstract

As autonomous vehicles are rapidly developing, the required electrical energy for operating various in-tire sensors as well as in-vehicle sensors is also increasing. In addition, noise from tires is becoming a critical issue given that the growth of electric vehicles eliminates the noise from engines. Thus, we develop a triboelectric nanogenerator implemented inside a tire with an acoustic foam for a self-driven silent tire, abbreviated as Tire-TENG. The manufactured Tire-TENG maintains the sound absorption ability of pristine acoustic foam while generating electrical energy using the radial acceleration change of a tire. In a laboratory test, the Tire-TENG with a volume of 50 mm × 50 mm × 30 mm shows power of 3.38 mW. As an actual application, six Tire-TENGs with each volume of 120 mm × 110 mm × 30 mm are mounted at the inner surface of a tire. At a speed of 100 km/h and with a weight load of 3500 N, 40 light-emitting diodes were lit bright enough to be seen in a daylight environment without any extra power source. By virtue of its high output characteristics, the Tire-TENG showed feasibility as a self-driven and sound-attenuated in-tire solution thus far not yet reported.