Energy Harvasting using Piezoelectric Generator

Abstract

In this era of increasing energy costs and decreasing supplies of fossil fuels, emphasis on protecting the environment and creating sustainable forms of power have become vital and high priority projects for modern society. It is imperative that clean, renewable sources of energy be put into practice if we are to wean ourselves off of more traditional sources of power such as fossil fuels. The process of acquiring the energy surrounding a system and converting it into usable Electrical energy is termed power harvesting. With piezoelectric materials, it is possible to harvest power from vibrating structures. This project targets the transformation of mechanical vibration into electrical energy using piezoelectric material. Highways in the Pakistan are vital transportation hubs that will greatly benefit from new energy technologies. Lower costs along with cleaner day-to-day operations from green forms of energy will allow roads in the Pakistan to operate more efficiently and effectively. Contained within this report is a comprehensive design and analysis of a new product: a piezoelectric based energy scavenging road that harvests energy from the stress applied by the vehicles. When a vehicle passes over a road, the road deflects vertically downward. For a road with embedded piezoelectric generators, part of the energy the vehicle imparts on roads deformation is transformed into electric energy (via direct piezoelectric effect) instead of being wasted. The proposed work in this research recommends Piezoelectricity as an alternate energy source. This report includes the development, implementation, and tests conducted in the design of the prototype of the energy scavenging road. The group was successfully able to harvest enough energy using piezoelectric materials in the pavement to power 6 LEDs through rechargeable battery