High-performance nanogenerator devices for energy harvesting applications

在当前全球化和人口增长的背景下，航空旅行作为一种快速有效的客运和货运运输方式的重要性不断增加。毫无例外，航空旅行的最高优先级是飞机本身的结构完整性。飞机结构健康监测（SHM）是利用先进的传感器技术对飞机结构状况进行评估，通过收集、传输和分析数据来评估飞机的完整性。有线传感器已被纳入并部署在飞机上用于SHM目的。然而，由于运行导线（用于供电和信号传输）的额外重量以及安装/维护困难，有线传感器的部署在很大程度上受到限制。位于剑桥的Shimco北美公司（Shimco）在垫片行业处于领先地位，发现了这一缺口和利基市场。2015年，Shimco决定与滑铁卢大学合作开发新型自供电传感器技术，该技术可用于他们的下一代垫片产品。在完成了2016-2017年的一个NSERC Engage项目，一个安大略省卓越中心（OCE） VIP II项目（2017-2019年）和一个NSERC CRD项目（2018-2020年，正在进行中）之后，UW团队和Shimco成功开发了基于摩擦电器件的第一代自供电传感器。在概念验证演示系统中，集成了能量收集单元、能量收集和存储单元以及无线传输单元。受到卓越进展的启发，Shimco决定继续与UW团队合作。在后续项目中，将通过探索新材料、先进制造技术以及优化器件结构和封装来开发高性能压电纳米发电机。该项目将使能量收集技术成熟到商业化阶段，使Shimco能够开发下一代高价值的垫片产品，并为HQP在纳米技术、材料科学、纳米电子学和垫片制造领域提供良好的培训机会。

The importance of air travel as a fast and efficient form of transport of passengers and cargo continuously increases in the current context of globalization and population growth. Without exception, the highest priority for air travel is the structural integrity of the aircraft itself. Aircraft structural health monitoring (SHM) is the assessment of an aircraft's structural condition using advanced sensor technologies, where data can be collected, transferred and analyzed to assess vehicle integrity. Wired sensors have been incorporated and deployed in aircrafts for the SHM purpose. Nevertheless, the deployment of wired sensors is largely constrained due to the extra weight of the running wires (for power supply and signal transmission) and the installation/maintenance difficulties. Shimco North America Inc. (Shimco), a Cambridge-based company with a leading position in the shim industry, identified this gap and niche market. In 2015 Shimco decided to collaborate with the University of Waterloo to develop novel self-powered sensor technologies that can be incorporated in their next-generation shim products. After completing one NSERC Engage project in 2016-2017, one Ontario Center of Excellence (OCE) VIP II project (2017-2019) and one NSERC CRD project (2018-2020, ongoing), the UW team and Shimco have successfully developed the first generation of self-powered sensors based on triboelectric devices. In a proof-of-the-concept demo system, an energy harvesting unit, an energy collection and storage unit and a wireless transmission unit have been integrated. Inspired by the excellent progress, Shimco decides to continue the collaboration with the UW team. In this follow-up project, high-performance piezoelectric nanogenerators will be developed by exploring new materials, advanced fabrication and optimized device structure and packaging. This project will get the energy harvesting technologies mature for the commercialization phase, enable Shimco to develop the next generation, high-value shim products and, provide excellent training opportunities for HQP in the fields of nanotechnologies, material sciences, nanoelectronics and shim manufacture.