Quantitative Estimation of Energy Harvesting Bridge using Piezoelectric Material

Abstract eng:
Due to the worldwide trend of reducing carbon dioxide, use of clean energy sources is spotlighted and widely applied to various industries. The application of such energy sources in civil engineering is also a hot issue. This study mainly focused on the quantitative evaluation of energy generation from the highway bridge which installed the piezoelectric modules, in order to find the most appropriate feature of energy harvesting bridge. To evaluate the energy generation efficiency, electricity generated from piezoelectric modules located in cross beams, u-ribs and slab are analyzed. The results drawn from this study will be used for further research which aims to develop the energy generation prediction procedure for the energy harvesting bridge. This study performed the analysis using a steel plate girder bridge. The bridge has a steel deck which reinforced by U-ribs and crossbeams. Piezoelectric modules which are 60mm long and 8mm wide are attached to the deck plates, U-ribs, and crossbeams of the bridge. A semi-tractor trailer vehicle having 43.2kN ran through the example bridge. In order to find the most efficient running pattern for the energy harvesting, three loading cases are considered for the analysis, as follows; • Case 1 (SS-C1): Traffic lane is located in centre of the bridge, and the vehicle run through the centre of the lane. • Case 2 (SS-C2): Traffic lane is biased to right side of the bridge, and the vehicle run through the centre of the lane. • Case 3 (SS-C3): Traffic lane is biased to right side of the bridge, and the vehicle run through the outmost of the lane. The results showed that the piezoelectric modules located in the entrance of bridge generate more electricity than that in mid-span. This is mainly because the sudden loading of vehicles causes the severe vibration into the bridge members. It is revealed that most effective energy generating member in this particular bridge was U-ribs. Almost half of electricity was induced from U-ribs, compared to the deck plates and crossbeams. Although some more case studies should be performed, it is revealed that the biased traffic lanes are not efficient for piezoelectric energy generation in this particular case study.

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