Harvesting Energy from Asphalt Pavement by Piezoelectric Generator

This paper presents the way to harvest mechanical energy from asphalt pavement by piezoelectric generator. Results show that the potential energy in asphalt pavement can be up to 150 kW/h per lane per kilometre. Part of the mechanical energy can be harvested by piezoelectric transducers. The performance of seven typical transducers is examined through finite element analysis. Results show that PZT piles and multilayer, cymbal and bridge can work in asphalt pavement environment. PZT piles and multilayer have higher energy converting rate, However, the total harvested energy is small if these transducers are embedded directly in pavement. A prototype pavement generator is developed using PZT piles to increase the harvested energy. The generator can harvest more than 50 kW/h energy from the pavement under heavy traffic. 8-16 PZT piles are recommended for one generator. Round shape is suggested for the PZT piles to reduce the concentration of stress. And multilayer structure is recommended for PZT piles to decrease the electric potential of generator. The generator can be extended as sensor in the asphalt pavement, which can be used to monitor the traffic, pavement stress and temperature.

Piezoelectric generator based on torsional modes for power harvesting from angular vibrations

Torsional vibration of a circular piezoelectric shell of polarized ceramics mounted on a rotationally vibrating base is analyzed. The shell is properly electroded and connected to a circuit such that an electric output is generated. The structure analyzed represents a piezoelectric generator for converting mechanical energy from angular vibrations to electrical energy. Analytical expressions and numerical results for the output voltage, current, power, efficiency and power density are given.

Investigation and characterization of an arc-shaped piezoelectric generator

A novel arc-shaped piezoelectric generator based on flexible PVDF thin film is presented and systemically studied.With a periodical external force,the generator can produce peak voltage of 45.6 V and peak power of 30.7μW.The maximum power density reaches 38.4μW/cm3with a 4 cm×2 cm×100μm device,at the optimum load resistance of 33.33 MOhm.The influence of frequency,size dimension and load resistance are investigated through experimental measurements.With this high output arc-shaped generator,capacitors can be effectively charged and three commercial LEDs have been directly lighted without any energy storage unit.

Magnetically levitated/piezoelectric/triboelectric hybrid generator as a power supply for the temperature sensor

The combination of new intelligent materials and structure technology is becoming an effective way in energy havesting and self-powered sensing. In this work, we demonstrate a magnetically levitated/piezoelectric/triboelectric hybrid generator, which does not use complex structure and has high steady output performance. It includes three parts: magnetically levitated generator(MLG), piezoelectric generator(PNG), triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG). The peak power of each is 135 μW, 22 mW and3.6 mW, which are obtained at 1 MΩ, 10 kΩ and 1 kΩ, respectively. The hybrid generator can completely light up light-emitting diodes(LEDs) under the vibration frequency of 20 Hz and the vibration amplitude of 10 mm. It also can charge a 470 μF capacitor.On this basis, we have integrated the hybrid generaor as a power supply into a self-powered tempreature sensing system. The combination of three generators can not only broaden the operating range, but also increase the operating length and sensitivity.This work will extend the application of self-powered sensor in automatic production line and promote the development of industrial control technology.