Experimental and finite element assessment of three energy harvesting prototypes for roadways

Abstract

The transportation infrastructures serve a critical societal need to rapidly move goods and people across the nation. Using these infrastructures as a source of renewable energy by harvesting them from the roadways is a novel idea that has not been fully explored yet. Highway pavements are exposed to energy-potential resources from vehicle vibrations and traffic loading strains. Energy harvesting is a process that captures unused ambient energy such as heat, vibration, stress or movement that would otherwise be lost. Piezoelectric transducers are considered materials for harvesting energy in pavement structures as they convert mechanical strain into low voltage. For this purpose, two types of piezoelectric geometry were evaluated; cylindrical disks and thin film, suitable for compression and bending state of stresses, respectively. Two prototypes including piezoelectric disks connected in series and parallel were evaluated to study the effect of loading frequency and magnitude on output power under compression. Another prototype containing thin piezoelectric film was developed to investigate the potential of energy harvesting in bending condition. Finite element (FE) analysis was conducted to simulate prototypes' response under loading. The evaluation of the prototypes involves laboratory testing of their power output as a function of stress and FE simulation of their mechanical behavior. The results showed that the energy harvesting modules should be designed to capture vertical compressive stress in pavement instead of tensile stress. Results suggested that voltage is highly dependent on loading magnitude. It was also concluded that piezoelectric stack connected in parallel produces higher current output under similar loading conditions.

More than smart pavements: connected infrastructure paves the way for enhanced winter safety and mobility on highways

“…The last four years have seen increased interest and promising progress in demonstrating the use of piezoelectric materials to harvest deformation energy from asphalt pavement. Yet, the amount of energy harvested is limited and mainly suitable for applications such as "powering wireless sensors embedded into pavement structure" [46] and other microelectronics, "heating road surface on bridge deck for anti-icing, lighting, or powering traffic devices" [39]. A few representative advances in the development of piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) technology is summarized in Table 1.…”

More Than Smart Pavements: Connected Infrastructure Paves the Way for Enhanced Winter Safety and Mobility on Highways

“…The last four years have seen increased interest and promising progress in demonstrating the use of piezoelectric materials to harvest deformation energy from asphalt pavement. Yet, the amount of energy harvested is limited but suitable for applications such as "powering wireless sensors embedded into pavement structure" [Roshani et al 2017] and other microelectronics, "heating road surface on bridge deck for anti-icing, lighting, or powering tra c devices" [Wang et al 2018]. A few representative advances in the development of piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) technology is summarized in Table 1.…”

Energy harvesting from pavements and roadways: A comprehensive review of technologies, materials, and challenges

“…Roshani et al [129][130][131] FEA of two types of piezoelectric geometry: cylindrical disks and thin film, under compression and bending stresses, respectively;…”

“…In their extended works, two prototypes were made from cylindrical disks connected in series and parallel, to study the effect of loading frequency and magnitude on output power under compression. A third prototype with thin piezoelectric film was also developed to investigate the potential of energy harvesting in bending condition.…”

“…Roshani et al [126][127][128][129][130][131] presented series of experimental and numerical studies on PEHs. For instance, Roshani and Dessouky 126 fabricated a PEH prototype that consisted of a ceramic disk-shaped PT with 10-mm diameter and 0.5-mm thickness sandwiched between two copper plates with 1-mm thickness and cut to the size of the asphalt specimen.…”