Solar energy harvesting and pavement sensing

Abstract

An attemptwas made to generate the required voltage in asphalt pavement to operate roadway sensors utilizing a temperature difference between two thermoelectric generators (TEGs). To enable output voltage by the TEGs below the asphalt surface layer, the harvester was installed with the copper plate 25 mm (1 in.) below the top surface layer. The copper plate is heated from the sun’s rays penetrating the asphalt surface layer and transferring the energy into the harvester system. The power generated from the TEGs allows temperature difference readings, as well as maximum power output voltage. Optimizing the harvester for efficiency and sustainability were top priorities. Once the copper plate receives the required voltage from the heat generation, the Arduino can be turned on. To communicate with the Arduino board in the current set-up, a USB cord gets plugged into the Arduino with the other end into the computer. The software program Arduino should then be opened on the computer to read data from the apparatus. An SD card or Bluetooth receiver was implemented into the solar harvester unit. This allows data for retrieval to be stored without an external power source (i.e., computer), allowing the harvester to operate freely. The strain transducer was installed into the asphalt surface layer for strain monitoring of the roadway. The SD card/USB would be able to store the information from the pavement strain transducer. Data retrieval would be achieved simply by unplugging the card from the harvester unit and uploading it to a computer.