Electric energy harvesting systems from urban road pavements: Analysis and preliminary simulation

Abstract

This paper discusses the topic of energy harvesting from urban roads illustrating an overview of new green road pavement integrated technologies to generate electric power. Two kinds of integrated road pavement technologies for clean electric energy harvesting compatible with loads and stresses generated by urban vehicular traffic were examined. The first concerns piezoelectric devices integrated into the road surface for generating electricity from the dynamic actions due to vehicular transit; the latter refers the photovoltaic panels distributed on the road surface for converting solar energy into electricity. Finally, preliminary systems performance simulations over an urban road section located in L’Aquila city (central Italy) with real environment and traffic conditions have been performed. Results are compared in terms of specific energy production. The presented work is a numerical study for understanding the potential of road energy harvesting technologies in real urban environment.