Abstract
The world energy consumption is constantly increasing and the research point towards novel energy harvesting technologies. In the field of pavement engineering, the exploitable sources are the solar radiation and the vehicle load. At present, these systems are able to convert the sunlight into electricity thanks to some solar cells placed under a semi-transparent layer (photovoltaic roads), or they can harvest thermal heat by means of solar thermal systems. The thermal gradient of the pavement can be exploited by thermoelectric generators, by heat pipes or by heat-transfer fluids (i.e. water) pumped into a medium (asphalt solar collectors, porous layer or air conduits). The traffic load can be exploited by piezoelectric materials, able to convert the vehicle load into an electrical charge.
 The aim of this paper is to describe the main pavement energy harvesting technologies, pointing out positives and negatives and providing indications for further optimizations. Finally, the systems are compared in terms of initial cost, electrical output, efficiency and technology readiness level.
Highlights
Energy harvesting is the process by which energy is captured exploiting an external source [1, 2]
The sunlight can be converted into electricity thanks to solar cells imbedded into a semi-transparent layer, or it can be converted in thermal heat by means of solar thermal systems
The thermal gradient of the pavement can be exploited by thermoelectric generators (TEGs), by heat pipes or by a heat-transfer fluid pumped into a medium [3]
Summary
Energy harvesting is the process by which energy is captured exploiting an external source (e.g., solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, electromagnetic ambient energy, kinetic energy, etc.) [1, 2]. The results demonstrate that high glue content (up 20% in volume) has a positive impact on both mechanical and optical performance of the semi-transparent layer, while the use of fine particles, which interfere with the sunlight wavelength, reduces dramatically the transparency of the material [16, 17]. They proposed a hexagonal panel of around 0.4 m2 composed by an electrical layer (containing the solar cells) enclosed between two layers of tempered glass hermetically sealed. The structure is typical of a solar road: semitransparent layer + pv cells + base layer
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