Research On Energy Harvesting From Pavement Deformation Induced By Moving Vehicles

ABSTRACT:Wireless sensors have received extensive attention and widely used in the engineering due to its long durability, inexpensive and easy to install, however, traditional wireless sensor has shortage of long-term energy supply by using battery. Harvesting energy from the external environment has become a hot topic of current research. Collecting ambient mechanical energy using piezoelectric effect is an efficient way of energy harvesting. In this work, it is intended to develop a theory model for capturing energy from the pavement deformation induced by moving vehicles and further supplying energy for some kinds of electric devices using along the road. The piezoelectric energy harvester can also be served as a sensor to monitor road traffic in real time.In this work the piezoelectric energy harvester is embedded in pavement to capture energy from pavement deformation. There are five chapters in the study. The first chapter gives the background of this study and its significance for application. The second chapter introduces the theory and methods related to the work. In the third chapter, based on Bernoulli-Euler beam theory, the pavement is simplified as a beam on an elastic Winkler foundation and the moving vehicle is simulated as a moving line load. The deformation response of the pavement is obtained by applying Fourier Transforms and Cauchy’s residue theory. The voltage and power output is then calculated by using the direct piezoelectric effect. Similar to the beam model developed in the third chapter but based on Kirchhoff plate theory, the pavement system is simplified as plate on elastic foundation in the fourth chapter. Moreover, the moving vehicle is taken as a moving distribution rectangle load. In order to consider the real situation, the vehicle is simplified as four moving rectangle loads in the fifth chapter. A theoretical solution is also given and the whole process of charging a battery is simulated by Simulink.This work provides a reference for further research on the application and design of piezoelectric energy harvester in pavement systems.