HARNESSING OF ENERGY FROM PAVEMENTS USING PIEZOELECTRIC APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The issue of Energy conservation and consumption is not new to us. As we keep on moving forward with time, the issues related to energy crisis keep on arising. Being engineers we always strive to bring up new ideas and innovations to tackle the escalating energy demands. Energy surrounds us everywhere in the form of solar energy, wind energy etc. Energy harvesting involves the methods to capture the ambient energy and converting it into an utilizable form. Pavements endure energy in the form of heat and traffic loads. This energy causes the deterioration of the pavement structure and so if a fraction of it can be harvested, it will be beneficial for the pavement and for the purpose of energy harvesting. There are various methods to capture the energy interacting with the pavements. Among these methods Piezoelectric Applications show good potential to harvest energy as these convert the stresses occurring on the pavements directly into electrical energy. Among the various piezoelectric materials available, piezoelectric ceramics are the most promising as these provide us with better energy generation properties. One such piezoelectric ceramic material is Lead Zirconate Titante (PZT) which is most widely used because of its high piezo modulus (d) and piezoelectric voltage constant (g). The purpose of this study includes the study of the suitability of using piezoelectric generators with an asphalt pavement in terms of energy production and efficacy. This incorporates conducting Finite Element Modelling and Laboratory tests on a piezoelectric sensor with a Bituminous Concrete Pavement. ABAQUS has been used for FEM analysis and for the purpose of laboratory test, the bituminous concrete sample with piezoelectric sensor was subjected to pressure in a Wheel Rut Tester so that the field conditions could be simulated. The Electric Potential generated by the piezoelectric sensor and the Electric Energy stored in the piezoelectric material has been found to increase with the increase in pressure applied and increase in the thickness of the piezoelectric material when considering the FEM results. Laboratory tests show that the Electric Potential generated by a single sensor increases for increase in pressure which supports the FEM analysis. The value of electric potential generated has been found to be low even with an Amplifying IC but if a network of sensors is used, the potential generated can be multiplied effectively. The energy produced if stored efficiently can be used for Micro Electronics and sensors but is not suitable for Macro electronic purposes.