Enhancing vibration energy dissipation and self-powered sensing in high-rise buildings using origami-inspired triboelectric nanogenerators and buckling-restrained braces

This study introduces a novel Buckling-Restrained Brace (BRB) design, incorporating Origami-inspired structures (OS) with triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), creating an intelligent BRB system for both vibration damping during seismic events and self-powered sensing. Rooted in the Miura-tube pattern, we conducted an extensive array of mechanical tests, encompassing varying contact shapes, external resistances, and excitation frequencies. Addressing the challenge of motion synchronicity in the OS base, we introduce an enhanced Miura-tube OSTENG, featuring reinforced stiffness in the origami structure's creases and panels. Our experiments revealed that the signal strength of these refined devices proportionally escalates with the number of integrated tribo-pairs. Further vibrational analysis of a two-story frame equipped with this enhanced Miura-tube OS-TENG underscored its potential as a sophisticated intelligent BRB. Experiments demonstrated a significant 31.21 % reduction in structural acceleration and a strong correlation between the device's voltage output and the building's dynamic response, with a 90.40 % regression fit. Within the examined range of excitation frequencies 3-15 Hz, the average accuracy of predicting structural acceleration using intelligent BRBs is 92.90 %. This work not only meets the essential demand for vibration mitigation through the innovative use of intelligent OS-TENG BRB systems but also significantly advances the integration of TENG-based self-powered sensors in structural health monitoring frameworks.