Piezoelectric Powered Sidewalk as an Alternative Source of Electricity

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The cost of producing and distributing electricity from depletable energy resources continues to grow more and more expensive over the years. In connection to this, the use of renewable energy can greatly contribute to a cleaner environment and a good alternative source of electricity. Collecting energy from vibration or pressure is possible because of the element called piezoelectric. Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulated on the bending of transducers in response to applied mechanical stress. This study aims to utilize the piezoelectric generator to gather and store energy by applying it on the roads and sidewalks. The researchers decided to conduct a true experimental study to evaluate how piezoelectric technology affects energy conservation and consumption in sustainable road engineering. The piezoelectric unit is mainly composed of piezoelectric transducer and rectifier diodes integrated into a circuit that enables the transformation of AC voltage into DC voltage which produces a higher output voltage. Testing will be conducted at the FEU Institute of Technology Physics Laboratory where the piezoelectric equipment will be observed for gathering and recording of data.

The total primary energy consumption of the Philippines mostly comes from fossil fuels which are non-renewable sources of energy or simply, resources that cannot be replenished. Although the country has large reserves of natural resources including oil, natural gas, and coal, extracting fossil fuels from our lands can cause numerous environmental problems. In addition to this, coal prices have doubled and will more likely continue to soar, making the cost of producing and distributing electricity from depletable energy sources all the more expensive.

In an account of this case, the “Renewable Energy Act of 2008” has been established to develop and apply the different renewable energy sources accessible in the Philippines. This includes the exploration of sources such as, but not limited to, biomass, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and ocean energy sources. The use of renewable energy can greatly contribute to a cleaner environment and a more sustainable energy requirement. It can also help the country to meet the inflating power system demands and even stabilize the rising power rates.

Concerning this matter, the Philippines is capable of utilizing other renewable sources not to mention that the country has one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy and also the first in Southeast Asia to develop wide-scale wind and solar technologies. Besides this, there are also other ways to acquire green energy.

Piezoelectricity is known as the “Piezoelectric Effect” is an ability that generates an alternating current voltage when subjected to mechanical stress or vibration when it is subjected to the alternating voltage. The common material for piezoelectric is quartz. Piezoelectric enables the electricity to flow through the quartz or squeeze certain crystals. It would also reverse if you pass electricity through the same crystals, it would squeeze themselves by vibrating back and forth. The crystal becomes a tiny battery with a positive charge on one face and a negative charge on the opposite face if people connected the two faces to make a circuit.

The piezoelectric effect was discovered in 1880 by two French Physicist brothers Pierre and Paul-Jacques Curie. They took the Greek word “work piezein” which means “to press”.

Throughout the past, several applications concerning piezoelectricity were made and advancements are still ongoing up to this day. The said subject has been used in different industries like automotive, computer, consumer, medical, and military. Researchers today still engage in the pursuit of improving technologies to maximize the use of piezoelectricity in everyday life.

Different parts of the Philippines have been experiencing numerous power crisis due to insufficient power supply and poor power transmission. Also, most Filipinos are complaining of high-power rates these days. It is because most of the fuel used for power generation is imported and is coming from depleting resources.

In connection to this, the current generation has been heavily dependent on electricity making it to the cut of the major needs of the community. Electricity is used everywhere, from residential places to large scale commercial buildings.

Because of the great demand for electricity, the researchers made various studies on sources and technology that may be used as an alternative rootage for it. At this point, any alternative regardless of how much electricity it can produce can be a big help not only to the problem of shortage but also in the contribution of fundamental knowledge in this area.

After several days of brainstorming, the researchers thought of the idea of applying the mechanism of piezoelectricity and its integration to everyday objects or places. Piezoelectricity is the electric charge accumulated on the bending of transducer in response to applied mechanical stress.

Collecting energy from vibration or pressure is possible because of the element called piezoelectric. The Piezoelectric element was discovered by Pierre and Paul Jacques Curie in 1888. They discover it from a crystal of quartz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt. The name “piezo” is derived from the Greek word that means pressure. It commonly uses in butane lighters, gas grills, gas stove, and electricity generator and the piezoelectric effect is mostly used to gather energy for batteries or any technology that need to charge by electricity.

The invention relates to generators for portable devices, and more particularly to piezoelectric generators. Transducers such as piezoelectric, electrostrictions, and magnetostrictions, can be used to convert one form of energy into another. Energy from a mechanic input, for example, a periodic force applied to a device containing a piezoelectric or electrostrictive material, can be converted to electric energy. Therefore, such materials provide a means for harvesting electric power from a mechanical input.

A generator employs piezoelectric elements to convert mechanical power to electrical power. The generator includes one or more piezoelectric transducers that are actuated by a mechanical input. The resulting electrical power is stored or used to run an electronic device. The generator is hand or foot operated. According to one aspect of the invention, a method of extracting electrical energy from mechanical motion includes reusing an elastic portion of energy in a transducer by transferring the elastic portion of energy to another transducer.

Piezoelectric generators (materials) are used as a mechanism that converts the motion, usually vibration, into a new energy that we call electricity that can be stored or directly used for devices such as mobile phones and portable electronics. The piezoelectric generator is an alternative source of energy that has the potential to provide energy autonomy to wireless sensor devices. However, the piezoelectric generators can only produce small amounts of energy and have the possibility to not directly power the electrical devices.

According to Novella (2016), the piezoelectric effect is a property of crystals in which the mechanical strains will generate an electric current. Pressing or deforming the piezoelectric crystals (such as quarts) can create a voltage across its two sides. The piezoelectric effect can also be reversed, and it will make the crystal deformed in shape or mechanically stressed. It shows how piezoelectricity is great in acquiring a useful energy source that is only from vibrations or movements. The piezoelectric effect can be a new harvesting method of energy to overcome the lack of power supply or the power demand.

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The piezoelectric road is a new energy harvesting method evolution that will produce a sustainable solution to the environment, economy, and social needs. According to Kour and Charif (2016), redirecting routes to merge the principle ideas of piezoelectric materials to urban roads is important. This new renewable energy harvesting method may lead to a new successful alternative source of power or energy that can be used to power up electrical and wireless sensor devices.

The paradigm shows how the study will be conducted. The researchers are going to conduct various stages to come up with a result. The piezoelectric transducers and rectifier diodes will be connected using connecting wires forming a circuit. This circuit will be integrated into piezoelectric equipment. Afterward, piezoelectric equipment will be tested in different ways. The gathered data will be analyzed critically to come up with a conclusion

This study aims to utilize the piezoelectric generator to gather and store energy by applying it on the roads and sidewalks. The result of this research will determine the effectiveness of a piezoelectric generator to produce energy that is sufficient for using it on everyday use and to power up other devices. This research has been made for the field of building design and estimates in which it is lined with Electrical and Civil Engineering. The researchers would like to make use of a piezoelectric generator as an alternative for producing energy to supply other devices and machines that is beneficial to humans. This could also be a help for the human who is in low income or cannot manage to pay their electricity bill. The researchers would like to apply the piezoelectric generator on roads and sidewalks to areas where there are a lot of people that walk and a lot of automobiles that pass without traffic. This could be a big solution for the problem of a lack of energy supply and power shortage. Electricity is very important for everyday use and to power up commercial buildings, traffic lights, hotels, and households. Without electricity, we cannot use the modern technology we have today. By the use of a piezoelectric generator, it can convert, collect, and store mechanical energy to produce electrical energy that is necessary for humans to operate technology and devices to make lives easier. The result of the study will be of great benefit to the following:

ENGINEERS. They can continue this study for improvement and apply this in their work. This will serve as a pattern or reference for their project which may benefit the community and environment. They might discover a new development for harvesting energy from piezoelectric materials. If they will be successful in using this research, they will be known for creating this solution to the power shortage.

ELECTRICIANS. They can use this study as their reference material if they will apply piezoelectric materials in households. It could be a great help to lessen the expenses including the electricity bill. Electricians might as well apply this in their homes and discover a new development that can greatly benefit the community and environment. They might discover a new safe electrical wiring involving the utilization of the piezoelectric generator.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS. To the aspiring future developers of this research, they can use this as their reference or pattern for their study. This research will give them an overview of the application of piezoelectric generators on roads and sidewalks for energy-efficient road engineering to help them understand what it is all about and to continue and improve the research that will benefit the community and environment.

CONSUMERS. They can use this research to plan their future homes. They can use this to apply on the floor of the house and make it an alternative source of electrical energy when it is stored in a capacitor. The stored energy can be used if there is an intentional or unintentional blackout that can be caused by typhoons and other natural disasters. If they want to be thrifty, they can use the stored energy to lessen their electrical consumption.

This study focuses on the properties of electricity that a piezoelectric powered sidewalk can produce. Data collection involves applying a designed weight of 40kg, 50kg, and 70kg to the piezoelectric equipment to determine the energy difference base on the force applied by a weight. The study will also cover the rate of electricity that can be conserved using piezoelectric and the benefits of it to the community and the environment.

In this study, the researchers will apply the piezoelectric effect, the ability of piezoelectric transducers to produce electricity under mechanical stress or pressure. The piezoelectric transducers will be designed into a circuit where the mechanical load will be converted into voltage. The piezoelectric equipment will be placed on sidewalks where it functions as an alternative source of electricity through movement. This enables to gather more energy from the motion of people, given that every individual has different weights giving a variance on load conversion per individual.

This study aims to consider a piezoelectric generator as an alternative source of electricity positioned in crowded places of Metro Manila, mainly on sidewalks of University Belt where large numbers of students and employees pass through.

The instruments that will be used in data collection is composed of the testing of the piezoelectric equipment that is made up of piezoelectric transducers, rectifier diodes, and connecting wires connected into a single circuit for maximum and minimum voltage production and inductance. Inside the circuit, the piezoelectric transducer will generate an AC voltage out of the pressure applied to it. Using rectifier diodes, the AC voltage will be converted into DC voltage which yields a higher average output. A multimeter will be used to read the voltage output and the capacitance (charge per voltage) of the piezoelectric equipment. Furthermore, the piezoelectric unit will be observed for varying changes.

Each of the piezoelectric transducers, rectifier diodes, and connecting wires will be verified for workable performance. Then, all the components will be assembled into a single circuit attached to a spring in-between two solid metal plates. The product which is the piezoelectric equipment will undergo test and experimentation which includes load detection, voltage conversion, and inductance at a force of 400N, 500N, and 700N. The test will be held at FEU Institute of Technology Physics Laboratory where the piezoelectric equipment will be observed for gathering and recording of data.

In this research, the piezoelectric equipment will be tested on different loads applied by individual movement. Each step will be analyzed for voltage and current emittance. The researchers will use tables to present the data gathered on each test of a load. Furthermore, the data will be evaluated to answer the research’s purpose.

In this study, the researchers will acquire a unit of piezoelectric transducers and rectifier diodes that will be connected into a circuit that requires the participation of experts for reliable performance and will be installed beneath the sidewalks.

In this study, there will be only a limited force that the piezoelectric can withstand and exceeding it will break the piezoelectric sensor on the piezoelectric transducer.

The research aims to utilize the vibrations found as a person step or exert force to produce a renewable type of energy. It also aims to lessen electric consumption by using piezoelectricity as an alternative source of electricity.

The piezoelectric powered sidewalk will help generate clean energy. The energy produced varies from the weight that will be applied. The greater the weight that will be applied, the greater the energy it can produce. Energy will be dependent on the number of participants, the larger the number of participants, the greater the energy it can harvest. The higher the bending force of the piezoelectric transducer due to the force applied, the higher the voltage it can produce. The energy produce will lessen electric consumption.

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Piezoelectric Powered Sidewalk as an Alternative Source of Electricity. (2022, September 15). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/piezoelectric-powered-sidewalk-as-an-alternative-source-of-electricity/
“Piezoelectric Powered Sidewalk as an Alternative Source of Electricity.” Edubirdie, 15 Sept. 2022, edubirdie.com/examples/piezoelectric-powered-sidewalk-as-an-alternative-source-of-electricity/
Piezoelectric Powered Sidewalk as an Alternative Source of Electricity. [online]. Available at: <https://edubirdie.com/examples/piezoelectric-powered-sidewalk-as-an-alternative-source-of-electricity/> [Accessed 25 Apr. 2024].
Piezoelectric Powered Sidewalk as an Alternative Source of Electricity [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2022 Sept 15 [cited 2024 Apr 25]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/piezoelectric-powered-sidewalk-as-an-alternative-source-of-electricity/
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