Can Roads Be Used As A Power Source?
In today’s era the technology is evolving day by day and due to which need of electricity is increasing day by day. We have limited amount of power source now a days as hydro generators and windmills and solar-power is not sufficient enough to provide electricity to complete world due to which this new source of producing electricity has been found and will be implemented soon.
But how can roads generate electricity?
OK, so we’ve seen that something like this is necessary. But how do we go about it? Where do we get the energy from, how do we store it and take it to where it’s needed? How do we transform it into electricity? Although research is ongoing in many different areas (solar roads, or wind farms closer to points of use).
Piezoelectric pumping, Although it may sound rather strange, we’ve all held a piezoelectric generator in our hands at some stage: the loudspeaker of a greetings card. This is a gadget that emits a specific sound upon application of a particular current and voltage, which cause deformation. This deformation is what produces vibration and a sound in the air.
How a piezoelectric generator works Source: Wikipedia
But if the process is reversed, and the piezoelectric element is deformed in a specific way, current and voltage are generated. This can, for example, charge a battery. Piezoelectric pumping is a type of energy generation by impulses which consists in deforming or pressing a piezoelectric material a number of times per minute to charge a battery.
Given that the greater the mechanical force (weight) applied to the piezoelectric element the more energy is generated, it would be a good thing to use on roads, where force would be applied dozens of times per minute. The UK’s Environmental Transport Association proposed a mechanism which generates 400 kW per kilometer and has been designed and tested in Israel with excellent results. The system uses and generates power from weight, movement, vibration and temperature changes. And this means that it can also partially capture the wind.
