Energy harvesting applications in transportation infrastructure networks

In the upward trend of renewable energy growth, several proposals have been made concerning energy harvesting devices in transportation infrastructure networks. The objective, concerning higher power extraction, is to supply power to auxiliary systems (e.g. road lights or information panels), thus, satisfying the requirement for sustainable transportation infrastructures. The purpose of this paper is to define a broader framework of energy extraction for transportation infrastructure networks. Within this framework, a novel device for the vibration energy harvesting, based on piezoelectric material, is modeled in a commercial FEM (Finite Element Method) code, in order to optimally extract energy from wind-induced vibrations. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Programme Committee of he Transport Research Arena 2012