Pavement electromagnetic energy harvesting system from highway-speed vehicles

Energy from pavements can be harvested in multiple ways to produce clean energy. One of the techniques is electromagnetic energy harvesting in which mechanical energy from vehicles is captured in the form of input displacement to produce electricity. In this study, a rack-and-pinion electromagnetic energy harvester proposed in the literature as a speed bump is optimized for highway-speed vehicles. A displacement transfer plate is also proposed, with a minimum depth of embedment in the pavement to carry input displacements from passing vehicles and excite the energy harvester. The energy harvester was designed, and kinematic modeling was carried out to establish power output relations as a function of rack velocity. Sensitivity analysis of different parameters showed that, for high-speed applications where rack velocities are relatively high, small input excitations could be harnessed to achieve the rated revolution per minute (RPM) of the generator. A set of laboratory tests were conducted to validate the kinematic model, and a good correlation was observed between measured and predicted voltages. Dynamic modeling of the plate was done for both recovery and compression to obtain the plate and rack velocities. The plate was designed for a class-9 truck with wide-base tires moving at 128 km/h using Monte Carlo simulation. Design and layout of the energy harvester with a displacement transfer plate was proposed for field validation. The energy harvester with the displacement plate could be integrated with transverse rumble strips in construction zones and near diversions. Hence, it could be used as a standalone system to power roadside applications such as safety signs, road lights, speed cameras and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Khan, Asad Ali Raza

Contributors dc:contributor

• Al-Qadi, Imad L

• Energy Harvesting
• Pavement
• Electromagnetic

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Asad Khan

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117601

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F117601