01472628

Component

In the last decade, while concern about the robustness of the roadways was increasing, the focus on sensing technology has significantly grown. The limit of the power supply has become an impediment to research on sensing technology. Recently, energy harvesting has proven to be a promising solution. It also provides a new source of clean and renewable energy that can help reduce negative environmental impacts while contributing to improved roadway mobility. In this work, four common energy harvesting approaches are compared and piezoelectric energy harvesting is proposed. It is known as a stable technology converting kinetic energy into electricity. The sinusoidal energy power output from the random external excitation would be rectified and stored by interfacial circuit. PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) is widely used in piezoelectric energy harvesting systems due to its high cost-effectiveness. This work presents a maneuver of powering the transportation infrastructural facilities and monitoring electronics using piezoelectric energy harvesting technology. Comparison of coupling configuration, material selection and testing methodologies are also presented.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFS30 Foundations of Bridges and Other Structures.

01470560

13-1388

English

14p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; Photos; References

Energy conversion; Pavements; Piezoelectric transducers; Piezoelectricity; Renewable energy sources; Sensors; Smart structures

Energy; Environment; Highways; Pavements; I15: Environment

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-1388

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:22PM