Harvesting Wind Energy via The Triboelectric Effect; The Influence of Public Opinion on Renewable Energy

When it comes to creating renewable energy, would a small object observed in nature be one of the first things that come to mind? The capstone group is exploring the topic of triboelectric energy harvesting with the goal of designing a prototype that can convert mechanical to electrical energy through contact separation. This research is taking inspiration from the mechanical movements that naturally exist in the world to create a new form of energy that is replenishable. Meanwhile, the STS research paper explores the various factors that can affect public opinion regarding renewable energy. The purpose of this research is to investigate how these factors affect individuals differently regarding the implementation of renewable projects in their community. These two components are connected because triboelectric energy harvesting with respect to wind can be considered a form of renewable energy. It is important to recognize the implications of how public opinion can be altered to serve the purpose of supporting/rejecting the development of future renewable energy technologies.
The capstone group has developed a prototype that will serve as a triboelectric energy harvester. One of the main purposes is to address the current challenge of harvesting wind energy at low wind speeds within the renewable/clean energy sector. Numerous iterations of testing were conducted to determine components like triboelectric materials based on the voltage produced and blade design based on engineering principles like deflection, yield strength, and fatigue stress among others. The final selected components include Copper and Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene) for the two triboelectric materials and a leaf shape for the blades.
The prototype was modeled after a leaf and its respective movements in the wind. It was 3D printed with a flexible material called TPU-95A (thermoplastic polyurethane). The design requires two identical leaves and works under the principle of contact separation, where two triboelectric materials of opposing charges come into contact and are separated repeatedly to generate charge (Wu et al., 2019). These two materials are placed on the face of the leaves that come into contact with one another. In between the material and leaf surface, a striped electrical wire is inserted. This wire is connected to an electrical system which converts the AC generated from the contact separation to DC and an oscilloscope to measure the produced voltage.
The STS research explores the factors that affect the public opinion on the development and implementation of renewable energy. This is of significance as the implications that affect the public’s perception regarding renewable energy should be recognized now more than ever, especially as these individuals can impact and are impacted by the development of technologies that can aid the world in future generations given the circumstances created by climate change. The frameworks of Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) in combination with Actor-Network Theory (ANT) were utilized to analyze the factors that affect how individuals and groups formulate their perspective regarding renewable energy.
With respect to the proposed question, factors that support and hinder were the two main sides created. For the sake of obtaining quantifiable results, mainly wind energy projects and only a few factors were selected to be investigated through various forms of media. The development of renewable energy can be hindered by socio-economic and landscape factors but simultaneously progressed by socio-economic and political factors that affect the perspectives of local communities. It was discovered that a black and white division is not created between the two sides as a particular factor can affect actors in different ways. Furthermore, a ripple effect within the networks was observed where an actor’s actions affect the surrounding actors (ex: government created monetary incentive can motivate companies to pursue renewable energy projects). Thus, this research can impact the development of triboelectric energy harvesters.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Sarah Sun, Thomas Ward
STS Advisor: Pedro Francisco
Technical Team Members: Essam Allibhai-Mawani, Christopher Herath, Grace Hessberg, Steve Kim, Oliver Nicholson, Graham Osisek, Sage Wibberley