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Development of Highway Sensing and Energy Conversion (HISEC) Modules for Generating Power

Project Summary

Using transportation infrastructure as a source of renewable energy by harvesting it from the roadway is a relatively novel idea that has not been fully explored yet. This project is aimed at exploring energy harvesting from the roadway infrastructure and harness it to generate electrical power. Millions of lane miles subjected to solar heat and vibrations, combined with repeated strains under normal working conditions, make the roadway infrastructure a very good candidate for energy harvesting.

Piezoelectric systems have shown promise for use in energy harvesting... Incorporating these systems in pavement as energy harvesters is a challenging problem that has yet to be studied. Massive amounts of mechanical energy are wasted when millions of vehicles are moving on roadways. The piezoelectric systems can harvest that energy, feed it to the power grid, or save it in roadside batteries and utilize it to charge electric cars, power roadside or traffic lights. Furthermore. changes in the response of these sensors with time can be used as a means of monitoring the health of the pavement layers, where these sensors are installed... The monitoring can also enable a "smart" road by potentially gathering real-time information on vehicle weight, speed and traffic volume.

The proposed systems can be placed under asphalt layers during regularly scheduled repaving, and would not affect the vehicles traveling on the road, in terms of "road feel”, fuel efficiency, or emissions. These systems can also be embedded under rail tracks and runways, providing real-time information on the health conditions of these structures and hence, improve traveler safety.

The outcome of this project will assist TxDOT in overcoming the challenges of rapidly growing population and declining fuel tax revenues. The research team will develop piezoelectric systems and investigate the potential benefits and the feasibility of using these systems to: a) harvest energy to generate useful power; b) monitor and diagnose roadway conditions; and, c) collect real-time traffic data.

Project Number

0-6871

Status

Completed

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