A Flexible, Adaptive, and Self-Powered Triboelectric Vibration Sensor with Conductive Sponge-Silicone for Machinery Condition Monitoring

Vibration sensors for continuous and reliable condition monitoring of mechanical equipment, especially detection points of curved surfaces, remain a great challenge and are highly desired. Herein, a highly flexible and adaptive triboelectric vibration sensor for high-fidelity and continuous monitoring of mechanical vibration conditions is proposed. The sensor is entirely composed of flexible materials. It consists of a conductive sponge-silicone layer and a fluorinated ethylene propylene film. It can detect vibration acceleration of 5 to 50 m s-2 and vibration frequency of 10 to 100 Hz. It has strong robustness and stability, and the output performance barely changes after the durability test of 168 000 working cycles. Additionally, the flexible sensor can work even when the detection point of the mechanical equipment is curved, and the linear fit of the output voltage and acceleration is very close to that when the detection point is flat. Finally, it can be applied to monitoring the working condition of blower and vehicle engine, and can transmit vibration signal to mobile phone application through Wi-Fi module for real-time monitoring. The flexible triboelectric vibration sensor is expected to provide a practical paradigm for smart, green, and sustainable wireless sensor system in the era of Internet of Things. A highly flexible and adaptive triboelectric vibration sensor with conductive sponge-silicone is proposed. It can work even when the detection point of the mechanical equipment is curved and can transmit vibration signal to mobile phone application for real-time monitoring, which will greatly accelerate the development of wireless sensor networks and provide sustainable energy solutions for smart sensing systems. image