Triboelectric nanogenerator and micro thermoelectric generator−based self-powered ice weight monitoring on transmission lines

Transmission line icing in mountainous, high-latitude, and coastal regions poses serious threats to grid reliability by increasing conductor stress and causing tower failures or outages. Conventional monitoring approaches are limited by poor adaptability, low sensitivity, and reliance on external power sources. This study presents a self-powered ice weight monitoring method based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) and micro thermoelectric generators (MTEG). A TENG-based ice weight sensing model and an MTEG thermal energy harvesting model are developed, and a prototype integrating MP-TENG, MTEG, signal processing, and energy management units is implemented. Experimental results demonstrate that MP-TENG accurately detects ice weight from 0 to 150 g with a maximum error of 1.26 % and measures growth rates of 0.01–0.8 mm/s with a maximum error of 2.34 %. Durability tests over 30,000 cycles show performance attenuation below 5 %. The MTEG achieves 1.2 V and 140 mA at 90 °C, providing 168 mW, sufficient to power the entire system for energy storage. The integrated system maintains a maximum error of 2.35 % across 50 repeated experiments, realizing continuous, high-precision, self-sustained ice weight monitoring. This work demonstrates a robust, fully autonomous sensing strategy for transmission line icing, combining high-accuracy measurement and sustainable energy harvesting, and provides a promising solution for smart grid applications in extreme environments.