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Review
. 2023 Jul 24;23(14):6634.
doi: 10.3390/s23146634.

Advancements in Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs) for Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure: Enhancing Bridges, Highways, and Tunnels

Arash Rayegani  1 , Ali Matin Nazar  2 , Maria Rashidi  1
Affiliations
Review

Advancements in Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs) for Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure: Enhancing Bridges, Highways, and Tunnels

Arash Rayegani et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) over time has resulted in considerable improvements to the efficiency, effectiveness, and sensitivity of self-powered sensing. Triboelectric nanogenerators have low restriction and high sensitivity while also having high efficiency. The vast majority of previous research has found that accidents on the road can be attributed to road conditions. For instance, extreme weather conditions, such as heavy winds or rain, can reduce the safety of the roads, while excessive temperatures might make it unpleasant to be behind the wheel. Air pollution also has a negative impact on visibility while driving. As a result, sensing road surroundings is the most important technical system that is used to evaluate a vehicle and make decisions. This paper discusses both monitoring driving behavior and self-powered sensors influenced by triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). It also considers energy harvesting and sustainability in smart road environments such as bridges, tunnels, and highways. Furthermore, the information gathered in this study can help readers enhance their knowledge concerning the advantages of employing these technologies for innovative uses of their powers.

Keywords: energy harvesting; intelligent road environments; self-powered sensors; structural health monitoring; triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Triboelectric nanogenerator modes: (a–d) contact separation mode, lateral sliding mode, single electrode mode, and free standing triboelectric layer mode [78]. (e) The number of TENG research articles published each year. (f) The number of citations of TENG research articles each year [79].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Demonstration of self-powered sensor based on a TENG for bridges: (a) Application of MCL-TENG as self-powered sensor [20]. (b) The design principle of DFIB-TENG [107]. (c) An AC/DC-TENG’s operational mechanism [108].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Demonstration of self-powered sensors based on a TENG for tunnels: (a) Design of a framework for a wireless system that is self-powered and measures traffic volume [109]. (b) Fabrication and design of a flexible TENG tree [110].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Demonstration of self-powered sensor based on a TENG for highways: (a) Fabrication and structural design of M-TENG [111]. (b) Fabrication and various scenarios of the dual-mode TENG [112].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Demonstration of self-powered sensor based on a TENG for highways: (a) Intelligent traffic control system hybrid NG illustration [61]. (b) FSS-TENG structure and design principles [113].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Demonstration of smart infrastructure to harvest energy from roads: (a) Fabrication, structural design, and application of OD-HNG [114]. (b) Overspeed wake-up alarm system powered by triboelectric nanogenerators (SOWAS) [44].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Demonstration of smart infrastructure to harvest energy from roads: (a) Application and design principal of OT-TENG [115]. (b) Structure and various scenarios of ml-TENG [116].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Demonstration of self-powered vehicle sensors based on TENG for road intelligent systems: (a) Design principles of SPHVS sensor [117]. (b) Fabrication and design principal of V-TENG [118]. (c) The structural design and functioning mechanism of a BS-TENG [119].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Demonstration of smart pedestrian crossing system based on triboelectric nanogenerators: (a) Application, principal, and fabrication of FR-TENGs [120]. (b) The working mechanism of cement-based TENG [121]. (c) Design principle and application of CBO-TENG [122]. (d) PBT’s illustration and mechanism of operation [123].
Figure 10
Figure 10
Demonstration of self-powered sensors based on a TENG for monitoring driving behaviors: (a) Application and design principal of (SSAS) [124]. (b) The design principle of APU-TENG and AS-TENG [106].
Figure 11
Figure 11
Demonstration of self-powered sensors based on a TENG for monitoring driving behaviors: (a) Application and design principal of an ST-TENG [125]. (b) Fabrication and application of DT-TENG [79].
Figure 12
Figure 12
Demonstration of Challenges, perspective, and insight for self-powered sensors for intelligent road environments.
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