Abstract

Measurement while drilling (MWD) system of offshore drill pipe is of great significance for safety production. It is greatly demanded to develop a sustainable power supply as well as self-powered sensors for the MWD system. In this work, a drill pipe-embedded annular type triboelectric nanogenerator (AT-TENG) is proposed and systematically investigated, and it consists of an annular silicone rubber and a pair of electrodes. The design of the AT-TENG allows the silicone rubber to contact and separate with the electrodes easily in a narrow space under arbitrary direction vibration to realize power generation. The experimental results show that the peak power density of AT-TENG with single-pair electrode reaches 63.7 W m−3 under the vibration frequency of 4 Hz and amplitude of 100 mm. The minimum peak voltage is >65 V within 360° lateral vibration range. The peak voltage achieves 351.62 V under the third-order natural frequency. In addition, the amplitude and frequency obtained from the voltage signals exhibit linearly with those of actual vibration. The mean error between the frequency detected by AT-TENG and actual frequency is <0.03%. Thus, the AT-TENG can serve as an energy harvester and self-powered vibration sensor.