Triboelectric Nanogenerator-Enabled Digital Twins in Civil Engineering Infrastructure 4.0: A Comprehensive Review

The emergence of digital twins has ushered in a new era in civil engineering with a focus on achieving sustainable energy supply, real-time sensing, and rapid warning systems. These key development goals mean the arrival of Civil Engineering 4.0.The advent of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) demonstrates the feasibility of energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental elements comprising civil infrastructure, encompassing various structures such as buildings, pavements, rail tracks, bridges, tunnels, and ports. First, an elaboration is provided on smart engineering structures with digital twins. Following that, the paper examines the impact of using TENG-enabled strategies on smart civil infrastructure through the integration of materials and structures. The various infrastructures provided by TENGs have been analyzed to identify the key research interest. These areas encompass a wide range of civil infrastructure characteristics, including safety, efficiency, energy conservation, and other related themes. The challenges and future perspectives of TENG-enabled smart civil infrastructure are briefly discussed in the final section. In conclusion, it is conceivable that in the near future, there will be a proliferation of smart civil infrastructure accompanied by sustainable and comprehensive smart services. Considering the substantial advantages of TENGs in tackling the energy supply and self-powered sensing challenges, a guideline for triboelectric nanogenerator enabled digital twins in civil engineering infrastructure is provided, including buildings, pavements, rail tracks, bridges, tunnels, and ports. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives of TENG-enabled smart civil infrastructure are briefly discussed to drive future development. image