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(Martin, Andrew. Power Line Pylon, 2017)
Navigate back to home page: Generating Renewable Energy through Pavements
What are piezoelectric crystals?
What are piezoelectric crystals?
mechanisms that produce electricity from pressure and can be embedded in pavements to be subjected to various vehicular and pedestrian loads
convert the kinetic energy applied to them by moving loads into storable and usable electric energy.
Diagram displaying an embedded piezoelectric crystal in the top pavement layer. The arrows show how the moving loads would be applied.
How can piezoelectric crystals be implemented?
How can piezoelectric crystals be implemented?
the design has to consider comfort and various other factors as to not inhibit the necessary movements and functions of the pavements.
Piezoelectric crystals have high energy density and are small in scale compared to other transducer options, which makes them perfect for implementation in pavements to not disrupt daily vehicular or pedestrian traffic
Diagram displaying the mechanism components of a transducer.
What is a transducer?
What is a transducer?
a device that converts energy from one form to another
works by having electrodes on either side of the mechanism, with wires attached
displacement of one electrode creates kinetic energy
that energy is then converted into electrical energy, exiting the other electrode to an output wire
How do transducers apply to piezoelectric crystals?
How do transducers apply to piezoelectric crystals?
Piezoelectric crystals are minuscule transducers, providing new technology for harvesting energy
produce power from small loads due to their high energy density
Diagram displaying the transducer components of a piezoelectric crystal.
(Google Search - Series Circuit)
Potential Downfalls
Potential Downfalls
We spoke to an industry professional, who stated that a serviceability issue with piezoelectric crystal is wiring. Currently, most of the transducers are wired in a series circuit, meaning that if one goes out, the all have to be replaced. If they were to be placed under non-removable pavements, it would be expensive to constantly repair them.
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