Design of piezoelectric device compatible with pavement considering traffic: Simulation, laboratory and on-site

Abstract

This paper presents a road-compatible piezoelectric power generation device with on-site practicality, under the premise of ensuring the power generation performance, which avoids the misunderstanding that the traditional road devices ignore road compatibility, and reduces the impact on the original pavement structure after the device is buried under frequent traffic loads. To achieve the object, based on the response characteristics of the pavement materials around the device during the process of automobile rolling, reasonable device dimensions are designed. The electrical performance and bearing capacity stability of the device are tested in the laboratory. To verify the compatibility of the device in road traffic, the test section is laid, and the states of the device and surrounding pavement materials are continuously monitored under normalized traffic. Finally, the on-site electrical output practicality of the device is verified. The results indicate that the mechanical responses of the surrounding pavement materials are affected after the energy device is matched with different parameters. The square polypropylene device with the thickness of 3 cm−4 cm and the cross-sectional dimension of 150 mm−200 mm is recommended. The electrical performance of the device under traffic load is increased to more than 2 times that before optimization. The on-site compatibility and power generation function of the device under normalized traffic are good and normal, which has pavement practicality. This work will make it possible to achieve large-scale practical applications, and eventually form an intelligent power generation pavement that is in harmony with the road.