Numerical Simulation of Vibration - Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Shape Comparison

This work investigates the shape optimization of piezoelectric energy harvesters subjected to mechanical vibration using ABAQUS/Standard software. Three piezoelectric energy harvesters with different dimensions but the same areas were created to identify if model dimensions have an impact on the output voltage. The models were tested at different speeds to create an output voltage. Once the output voltages were obtained, the results were compared with each other to find if shape optimization on piezoelectric energy harvesters has an impact on scavenging energy from mechanical vibrations

Smart Materials and Devices for Energy Harvesting

This book is devoted to energy harvesting from smart materials and devices. It focusses on the latest available techniques recently published by researchers all over the world. Energy Harvesting allows otherwise wasted environmental energy to be converted into electric energy, such as vibrations, wind and solar energy. It is a common experience that the limiting factor for wearable electronics, such as smartphones or wearable bands, or for wireless sensors in harsh environments, is the finite energy stored in onboard batteries. Therefore, the answer to the battery “charge or change” issue is energy harvesting because it converts the energy in the precise location where it is needed. In order to achieve this, suitable smart materials are needed, such as piezoelectrics or magnetostrictives. Moreover, energy harvesting may also be exploited for other crucial applications, such as for the powering of implantable medical/sensing devices for humans and animals. Therefore, energy harvesting from smart materials will become increasingly important in the future. This book provides a broad perspective on this topic for researchers and readers with both physics and engineering backgrounds

SMARTI - Sustainable Multi-functional Automated Resilient Transport Infrastructure

The world’s transport network has developed over thousands of years; emerging from the need of allowing more comfortable trips to roman soldiers to the modern smooth roads enabling modern vehicles to travel at high speed and to allow heavy airplanes to take off and land safely. However, in the last two decades the world is changing very fast in terms of population growth, mobility and business trades creating greater traffic volumes and demand for minimal disruption to users, but also challenges, such as climate change and more extreme weather events. At the same time, technology development to allow a more sustainable transport sector continue apace. It is within this environment and in close consultation with key stakeholders, that this consortium developed the vision to achieve the paradigm shift to Sustainable Multifunctional Automated and Resilient Transport Infrastructures. SMARTI ETN is a training-through-research programme that empowered Europe by forming a new generation of multi-disciplinary professionals able to conceive the future of transport infrastructures and this Special Issue is a collection of some of the scientific work carried out within this context. Enjoy the read

A tool to evaluate sustainability of pavement maintenance projects.

Pavement maintenance activities are widely regarded to be critical elements during pavement life cycle, different maintenance techniques have been used to restore or extend the service lives of pavements. However, the existing maintenance practices on pavement system have problems that impair the economic benefits, disturb the natural environment, and somewhat ignore the needs from stakeholders. To minimize these negative impacts, sustainability is an ideal way because it addresses the problems under Triple Bottom Line (TBL, refers to economy, environment, and society). Sustainability analysis within transportation or pavement industry has been studied in different countries, but the concept of sustainable pavement maintenance is relatively new and has not been defined well yet. In this research, the concept of sustainable pavement maintenance has been proposed and defined to help benefit the current pavement industry. Rating tool has its advantages measuring sustainability activities. There are many rating tools designed for sustainable infrastructure, transportation, or pavement, but maintenance has its own characteristics and yet never had its own rating tool. To link the theoretical concept of sustainable pavement maintenance with actual projects, a sustainability rating tool for pavement maintenance (Pavement Sustainability Index for Maintenance, PSIM) has been developed by a so-called 5-step methodology. Step one and two are to determine the rating categories and indicators; step three is to determine the priority of each category by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); step four is to determine points distribution under each indicator by reviewing the sustainability practices of 8 State DOTs; final step is to propose the certification methodology according to the Pavement Sustainability Index (PSI) earned by the maintenance project. To prove the usability value of PSIM, four common maintenance activities have been discussed as case studies, including rejuvenation, utility cut restoration (UCR), overlay, as well as mill and overlay. The projects selected were located in or adjacent to Louisville, KY. Among the nine projects being evaluated by PSIM framework, UCR projects were not sustainable; rejuvenation project, overlay projects, and one of the mill and overlay projects earned one PSIM star; two PSIM stars were awarded to two of the mill and overlay projects

Designing and Testing 3-D Printed Wafer-box with Embedded PZT Sensors to Identify the Shape Effect on Energy Harvesting

Piezoelectric energy has been recently paid attention in the field of alternative energy. Day by day the traditional energy sources including Coal tar and oils are becoming scarce. People are heading to an alternative energy source to meet the future energy demand. Piezoelectric energy is one of the competitive energy sources compared to the conventional renewable energy sources including solar, wind, and geothermal power and so on. This energy production method bears enormous research potential because it can be used as the roadway for a new method of power generation. This research project aimed to identify which shaped wafer-box produced the higher electricity. This research project utilized both a 3-D printer and a 3-D Computer Aided Design (CAD) to develop five different shapes of prototype wafer boxes coupled with piezoelectric sensors. Various forms were developed see if there were any potential difference in power (voltage) generation due to the structure of the box. In order to run an Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA) wheel load test, piezoelectric ceramic disk sensor was embedded into the wafer box. Collected data from the APA load wheel test were analyzed using various statistical methods which produced significant findings. The analytical result indicated that out of the five different shaped wafer boxes the circularly shaped box produced the highest average voltage values. The triangular shape is in the second position to produce voltage. The square shape is in the lowest position of the list to produce electricity. The 3-D printers can print wafer-box with other different materials for testing. The 3-D printer can print the product accurately which gives the more reliable output. These 3-D printed wafer-boxes could be can be utilized for APA testing to determine the effectiveness. Additional research could lead to a broader understanding of PZT-based energy harvesting technology as well as providing a platform for testing PZT harvest units

Reduction of environmental impacts due to using permeable pavements to harvest stormwater

While rainwater harvesting can provide additional water resources, this approach is largely undertaken using water from roofs. More recently, the potential for using stormwater harvested from permeable pavements was recognised as a potential additional water resource. The objective of this study was to estimate the reduction of environmental impacts caused by traditional drainage systems and centralised water utilities if permeable pavement systems were used to harvest stormwater for nonpotable purposes in buildings. The lifecycle environmental impacts and costs associated with the proposed pavements and hydraulic systems were assessed. The city of Glasgow was chosen as a case study. We used the Netuno computer programme to estimate the potential for potable water savings considering the use of stormwater for nonpotable purposes and the SimaPro software to perform a lifecycle assessment (LCA). With the implementation of permeable pavements and stormwater utilisation, great reductions in lifecycle emissions (i.e., CO2-, SO2-, and PM2.5-equivalent emissions) were observed. The proposed system also proved to be economically feasible, i.e., a payback period equal to 16.9 years. The results show the economic and environmental feasibility of permeable pavements when used on a large scale, proving to be an important strategy to reduce water and environmental stresses caused by centralised water utilities and traditional drainage systems

Piezoelectric elements subjected to low frequency excitation. Empirical determination of stress and frequency influence on piezoelectric parameters

Designing optimum energy harvesting devices is the aim of several developments based on numerical or analytical studies of different piezoelectric configurations that usually consider constant piezoelectric properties. Experimental tests on bending piezoelectric patches showed that the electrical response depended on the frequency and amplitude of the mechanical excitation for displacement-imposed systems. Analytical and numerical calculations required adapting piezoelectric parameters to properly represent experimental results. A novel formulation to calculate piezoelectric parameters using the mechanical stress and the excitation frequency as inputs is proposed and discussed. A linear dependency on the mechanical stress of the piezoelectric ceramic and a logarithmic dependency on the excitation frequency have been combined to propose a unique calculation procedure. Later, this procedure was applied to compute different piezoelectric parameters to set numerical (2% error) and analytical (1% error) calculations that accurately represented experimental results. Finally, the practical implications of considering or not considering the frequency and stress dependency of the piezoelectric properties was evaluated for a theoretical bimorph cantilever configuration, whose excitation frequency decreased whereas the amplitude was kept constant. Results showed that only 1/3 of the energy production that was predicted with constant piezoelectric properties can be expected when considering frequency and stress influence.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Partial financial support was received from COMSA company. Partial financial support was received from SORIGUÉ, S.A. (research contract PIEZOROAD)Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

ADAPTS: An Intelligent Sustainable Conceptual Framework for Engineering Projects

This paper presents a conceptual framework for the optimization of environmental sustainability in engineering projects, both for products and industrial facilities or processes. The main objective of this work is to propose a conceptual framework to help researchers to approach optimization under the criteria of sustainability of engineering projects, making use of current Machine Learning techniques. For the development of this conceptual framework, a bibliographic search has been carried out on the Web of Science. From the selected documents and through a hermeneutic procedure the texts have been analyzed and the conceptual framework has been carried out. A graphic representation pyramid shape is shown to clearly define the variables of the proposed conceptual framework and their relationships. The conceptual framework consists of 5 dimensions; its acronym is ADAPTS. In the base are: (1) the Application to which it is intended, (2) the available DAta, (3) the APproach under which it is operated, and (4) the machine learning Tool used. At the top of the pyramid, (5) the necessary Sensing. A study case is proposed to show its applicability. This work is part of a broader line of research, in terms of optimization under sustainability criteria.Telefónica Chair “Intelligence in Networks” of the University of Seville (Spain