Our inventors have designed a system which is capable of collecting dissipated vehicle kinetic energy on a large scale through the transformation of asphalt layers into a piezoelectric energy harvester. The system consists of two conductive asphalt layers and one piezoelectric layer. The two conductive asphalt layers are made of mixtures with conductive additives such as steel wool, graphite, and carbon black. The piezoelectric layer integrates piezoelectric materials with asphalt mixtures and other insulation materials. When the piezoelectric layer is vibrated, each piezoelectric cell is polarized because of the deviations of positive and negative charge centers. Then, the piezoelectric layer will charge the upper and lower conductive layers. Since the piezoelectric layer itself is insulated, electric charges will be stored in the upper and lower layers without leakage. This technology will provide a clean power source to supply transportation infrastructures. It is applicable in renewable energy and piezoelectric material industries.
Concept for Transforming Piezoelectric Transducers into EHPS