A High‐Voltage Mechanical Energy Harvester Using Crank‐Shaft Mechanism for Applications in Toll Stations on Expressways

Abstract

Due to the continuous increase of expressways and toll stations, there is a high potential for energy harvesting for sideway electronic devices. This article proposes a novel road energy harvester (REH) based on a crank‐shaft mechanism using bidirectional to unidirectional phenomenon to be installed on expressway toll stations. The REH contains four main components: the oscillation input from the suspension, the transfer unit, the generator unit, and the energy storage unit. The REH uses a crank‐shaft with spur gears as a mechanical motion rectifier and one‐way bearings, which can convert the oscillatory vibration into unidirectional generator rotation. In the energy storage module, electrical energy is being stored in supercapacitors. This study covers the design, modeling, and simulation of a crank‐shaft‐based energy harvester for harvesting suspension vibration energy. The energy harvester's dynamic modeling is used to assess the damping features. Simulated tests are conducted to demonstrate the proposed energy harvester's efficacy. Experiments are conducted, and the highest output voltage of 6.9 V peak is recorded for 5 mm/s with an efficiency of 53.66% which is enough for self‐powered applications at expressway toll booths such as traffic lights, caution lights, LED displays, sensors, etc.