Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

A review on thermoelectric energy harvesting from asphalt pavement:

Configuration, performance and future
Xingyi Zhu a, Yue Yu a, Feng Li b,⇑
a
Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China
b
School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, No. 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, PR China

h i g h l i g h t s

Harvesting thermoelectric energy from asphalt pavement can reduce road temperature.

Four methods are proposed to increase the generation power.

The SSE has good prospects in harvesting thermoelectric energy from asphalt pavement.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Reducing the use of fossil fuels and generating renewable energy have always been important to society.
Received 10 January 2019 Asphalt pavements cover a high percentage of urban surface areas and store huge thermal energy due to
Received in revised form 15 July 2019 high solar radiation. The thermoelectric effect can convert thermal energy into electric energy if there
Accepted 26 August 2019
exist thermal gradients. The use of thermoelectric effect in asphalt pavement, on the one hand, can
Available online 5 September 2019
reduce the temperature of the road surface and relieve the damage caused by high temperature; on
the other hand, can collect clean electric energy used for LED (light-emitting diode) lamps, in-suit mon-
Keywords:
itoring sensors, and other apparatus. The present paper introduces the principle of thermoelectric effect,
Thermoelectric effect
Energy harvesting
discusses the asphalt pavement temperature field and investigates the configurations of thermoelectric
Asphalt pavement energy harvesting system used in asphalt pavements. The methods for improving efficiency are discussed
Temperature control and future research recommendations are proposed. This review shows that by means of thermoelectric
spin Seebeck effect effect to harvest energy from asphalt pavements is feasible, but more effort should be made to improve
Thermoelectric generator the thermoelectric device efficiency.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Thermoelectric technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1. The Seebeck effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Thermoelectric materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3. Thermoelectric generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Asphalt pavement temperature field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. The configuration of SHTE-AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Abbreviations: LED, light-emitting diode; SHTE-AP, the system harvesting

thermoelectric energy from asphalt pavement; TEG, thermoelectric generator;
NASA, national aeronautics and space administration; RWIS, road weather infor-
mation system; PP, pipe pavement; PVC, polyvinyl chloride; PP-TEG system, pipe-
pavement-thermoelectric generator system; MPPT, maximum power point track-
ing; P&O, perturb & observe; ESC, extremum seeking control; SSE, spin Seebeck
effect; ISHE, inverse-spin-Hall effect; LSSE, longitudinal spin Seebeck effect.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: lifeng98@buaa.edu.cn (F. Li).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.116818
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818

Nomenclature

a Seebeck coefficient T the average temperature between cold junction and hot
V voltage value junction
DT temperature difference between the hot source and the k thermal conductivity
cold source q electrical resistivity
Tc cold junction temperature L Lorentz number
Th hot junction temperature

4.1. Liquid system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4.2. Solid system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5. Performance of SHTE-AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6. Methods for efficiency improvement of SHTE-AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.1. Improving the conversion efficiency of TEGs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.2. Optimizing the design of SHTE-AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.3. Changing the thermal-electric properties of the pavement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.4. Using maximum power point tracking algorithm in conjunction with DC/DC converter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7. Future research recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7.1. The spin Seebeck effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7.2. Economy analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
7.3. Other recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
8. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Declaration of Competing Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1. Introduction control the temperature of asphalt pavements and transfer thermal

The pollution of fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources
has always been a worldwide issue. The increasing depletion of
fossil energy sources makes the use of renewable and sustainable
energy even more urgent. At present, in order to reduce the use
of fossil fuels and mitigate associated pressures on environment,
a series of methods have been developed to utilize the renewable
and sustainable energy, including solar energy, wind power, tidal
power, geothermal heat, etc.
Pavements, one of the major civil infrastructures, cover 29%-
45% of the urban surface [1]. Asphalt pavements are the primary
type of pavements, especially urban roads and highways. Due to
exposure to vehicle loading and solar radiation, asphalt pavements
store a huge amount of energy. Therefore, many different tech-
niques have been developed to harvest energy from asphalt pave-
ments, including thermoelectric [2], geothermal [3], piezoelectric
[4] and electromagnetic [5,6] energy harvesting.
It should be mentioned that asphalt pavements face some prob-
lems in summer. Asphalt pavements have a high rate of solar
absorption thus converting huge solar energy into thermal energy,
which results in higher surface temperatures. In midsummer, the
surface temperature of asphalt pavement can reach 70 °C. How-
ever, the huge thermal energy stored in asphalt pavement usually
is wasted. Even worse, it will bring some negative effects, for
example, the urban heat island effect, aging of asphalt mixture,
etc. During the summer, the pavement is generally 20 °C higher
than surrounding areas [7]. When surroundings getting cooler,
the heat generated by asphalt pavement will release, exacerbating
the urban heat island effect. Besides, the continuous high temper-
ature will accelerate the oxidation of asphalt mixture, which can
lead to the crack and other damages. Meanwhile, at high tempera-
tures, the stiffness of the asphalt mixture is significantly decreased,
aggravating pavement rutting. Therefore, it is quite essential to
energy from asphalt pavements to other usable energy.
Among all the energy sources which can be collected from
asphalt pavements (thermal energy, mechanical energy and wind
energy), thermal energy stands out because the pavement temper-
ature can be reduced when generating thermal energy. Thermo-
electric technology is an effective way of utilizing the thermal
energy generated by solar radiation on the road surface [8,9]. In
low latitudes, such as Virginia, United States, the asphalt pavement
surface temperature can reach 59 °C. However, in 13 cm depth of
the pavement, the temperature is around 40 °C (see Section 3).
The temperature gradient between surface and deep layer of the
pavement (or other place with low temperatures, such as soil
and water) can be used to generate electric energy by thermoelec-
tric generators (TEGs). The system for harvesting thermoelectric
energy from asphalt pavement is abbreviated as SHTE-AP. On the
one hand, the electric energy generated by TEGs can be stored in
a battery or used for other devices, such as LED and in-suit wireless
monitoring sensors. One of the main limitations of wireless moni-
toring sensor is energy supply, which can be solved through SHTE-
AP. On the other hand, SHTE-AP will decrease the asphalt pave-
ment surface temperature, thus mitigating urban heat island effect,
delaying the oxidation of the asphalt mixture, and alleviating pave-
ment rutting.
Many researchers have done lots of work about SHTE-AP, both
research papers [7,10] and review papers [11,12]. However, few
review provides a comprehensive introduction to the application
of thermoelectric technology in asphalt pavements. The objective
of this paper is to make a comprehensive review of SHTE-AP and
propose future research recommendations. The review focuses on
several important aspects of SHTE-AP, such as Seebeck effect,
asphalt pavement temperature field, configuration design, and
field performance. Furthermore, since the generation power from
thermoelectric generations is quite limited, it is important to
 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
explore the influence factors on generation power. Thus, the meth-
ods for efficiency improvement of SHTE-AP are also discussed. In
the end, future research recommendations are proposed such as
using thermoelectric generators based on the spin Seebeck effect
in asphalt pavements.
2. Thermoelectric technology
Thermoelectric effect is a physical phenomenon that a thermo-
couple can convert temperature differences to electric voltage and
vice versa. This effect received a lot of attention around 1960
because it succeeded in achieving long-term power generation
on spacecraft. In recent years, thermoelectric generators have
shown good application prospects not only in military and high-
tech, but also in civil use. Thermoelectric effect includes the See-
beck effect, Peltier effect and Thomson effect [13]. Since this
review is focused on generating electric energy from pavements,
we only discuss about the Seebeck effect.
2.1. The Seebeck effect
In 1774, Italian scientist Alessandro Volta first discovered the
Seebeck effect [14], but the Baltic German physicist Thomas Johann
Seebeck independently discovered and named this effect in 1821
[15]. The Seebeck effect means that the temperature gradient in
thermoelectric materials will cause the carriers in the material
(conductors and semiconductors [16]) to move so as to realize
the transition from thermal energy to electric energy, as shown
in Fig. 1 [17]. Under the action of a temperature gradient, holes
in the hole-rich material (p-type) diffuse toward the electron-
rich material (n-type), and electrons in the electron-rich material
(n-type) diffuse into the hole-rich material (p-type) thus forming
an electromotive force.
The Seebeck effect is characterized by the Seebeck coefficient a,
which is defined by Eq. (1),
a  V=DT
where V refers to the voltage value, DT is the temperature differ-
ence between the hot source and the cold source (see Fig. 1). For
doped semiconductors, a can be expressed by Eq. (2),
8p2 kB
2  p 2=3
a¼ 2
m T
3eh 3n
where kB, e, h m* and n are, respectively, the Boltzmann constant,
the carrier charge, the Planck’s constant, the effective mass of the
charge carrier and the carrier concentration [18].
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the Seebeck effect.
3
2.2. Thermoelectric materials
Obviously, people are more concerned about the quality of ther-
moelectric materials, which is described by a dimensionless figure
ZT. ZT is defined by Eq. (3),
a2
ZT ¼ T ð3Þ
kq
where k is the thermal conductivity, q is the electrical resistivity [8].
It can be known from Eq. (3) that in order to increase ZT, it is nec-
essary to increase the Seebeck coefficient a and reduce the thermal
conductivity k and electrical resistivity q. A low electrical resistivity
can minimize the Joule heat, thus decreasing the energy lose. A low
thermal conductivity can hold more heat, thus making the material
temperature drop more slowly. A high Seebeck coefficient, obvi-
ously, can produce a high voltage. In isotropic metal, k is dominated
by the electron thermal conductivity ke. We cannot arbitrarily
adjust the thermal conductivity k and electrical resistivity q of an
isotropic metal because of the Wiedemann–Franz law. Wiede-
mann–Franz law can be described by Eq. (4),
ke q ¼ Le T ð4Þ
where Le is the electronic Lorentz number [19].
In the case of semiconductor materials, k has two contributions,
one is electron thermal conductivity ke, and one is lattice thermal
conductivity kl. Usually, kl is greater than ke. Therefore, using ther-
moelectric semiconductor materials can change this situation in a
conventional way, thus greatly improving the conversion efficiency
of thermoelectric effect and providing possibilities for practical
applications [16,20].
Getting a high ZT value has always been a research goal. If the ZT
value increases, it will bring huge economic benefits [21]. In the
beginning, between 1950 and 1960, scientists found three impor-
tant materials with high ZT values, they are bismuth telluride (Bi2-
Te3) used in refrigeration, lead telluride (PbTe) and silicon
germanium used for high temperatures [22].
ð1Þ Table 1 shows the characteristic of several thermoelectric mate-
rials. The type means the materials belong to n-type or p-type. The
ZT values of these materials are around 1.0 [22]. Additionally, due
to high Seebeck coefficient, good thermal stability and easiness for
large-scale synthesis, metal oxides and nitrides (such as n-type
materials: NaxCoO2, Ca3Co4O9, GaN, and p-type materials: ZnO-
based, SrTiO3, InN) are good quality thermoelectric materials, espe-
ð2Þ cially for high temperature [23–25].
From 1995 to the present, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) has conducted a new study looking for a
new generation of thermoelectric materials, which should have
small-size, but large ZT value, such as 3 or 4 [21,26].
2.3. Thermoelectric generators
People use TEGs based on the Seebeck effect to convert thermal
energy into electricity. The earliest use of TEGs was on the NASA
Table 1
The characteristic of thermoelectric materials [22].
Temperature (°C) Type Thermoelectric materials ZT values
< 150 p Bi2Te3 0.8
n Bi2Te3 0.8
150–500 p Zn4Sb3 –
p,n PbTe 0.7–0.8
p TeAgGeSb (TAGs) 1.2
500–700 p CeFe4Sb12 1.1
n CoSb3 0.8
700–900 p,n SiGe 0.6–1.0
p LaTe 0.4
4 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818

Transit navigation satellite (1961). The main advantages of TEGs

are as follows:

- The principle is simple and does not require complicated

configuration;
- Long lifespan;
- Can work in extreme environments such as outer space or high-
temperature environment;
- Can be integrated to provide greater voltage;
- Can be implanted inside other objects such as human body, Fig. 3. The thermoelectric generator (TEG) [16].

pavement;
- No noise.
3. Asphalt pavement temperature field
For a long time, the module that can be used industrially to
Due to the high absorption of solar radiation, the asphalt pave-
make TEGs is the Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) module [27]. Nowa-
ment temperature can reach 70 °C. Therefore, the asphalt pave-
days, many new modules have been developed, such as half heus-
ments which cover a quite high percentage of the urban surface
ler, oxides, and magnesium silicide.
store incalculable thermal energy. However, this renewable ther-
Evident Thermoelectrics, a company, has developed two half
mal energy is always ignored. The thermoelectric effect is an effec-
heusler modules called TEG-HH-8 and TEG-HH-15. The power of
tive way of generating the thermal energy from the asphalt
the TEG-HH-8 and TEG-HH-15 at a temperature difference of
pavements. And the existence of temperature difference in the
500 °C is 7.2w and 15w [28]. Chen and Ren summarized the com-
pavement structure is the prerequisite for the application of ther-
prehensive approach for optimizing individual parameters to
moelectric effect. Under the same kind of TEG, the temperature
enhance the thermoelectric performance based on half-Heuslers,
gradient determines the output power. Since the temperature dif-
such as doping and energy filtering at grain boundaries to increase
ference plays an important role in thermoelectric effect, it is neces-
Seebeck coefficient. They also pointed out using metallic phase
sary to discuss the asphalt pavement temperature filed at first.
nanoinclusions as dopants to enhance electrical conductivity [29].
The pavement temperature is dependent on the environmental
TECTEG MFR, another company, sells two oxides modules,
factors including solar radiation, air temperature, wind speed,
CMO-32-62S and CMO-32-62S CASCADE (see Fig. 2) [30]. In the
humidity, and the thermal properties of asphalt pavement
temperature difference of 750 °C, the voltage of CMO-32-62S is
[36,37]. The Analysis shows that among many environmental fac-
6.4 V. In the temperature difference of 435 °C, the voltage of
tors, air temperature has the most significant effect on pavement
CMO-32-62S CASCADE is 9.75 V. The price of these two modules
temperature. Solar radiation is the main factor that causes the ris-
in 2018 is about 375 US dollars and 590 US dollars. It is difficult
ing of pavement temperature during the day, and it is also the most
to make a large-scale application for its expensive price.
important factor in addition to air temperature. Humidity only
Alphabet Energy developed magnesium silicide module named
affects pavement temperature under certain weather conditions
Power Modules. The thermoelectric materials are tetrahedrite (p-
and humidity has a correlation with air temperature and solar radi-
type) and magnesium silicide (Mg2Si) (n-type) which provide the
ation, which can be reflected by air temperature and solar radia-
average ZT around 1. The E1 thermoelectric generator, a kind of
tion. Most of the time, pavement temperature is almost
magnesium silicide modules provided by Alphabet Energy, consist-
synchronous with air temperature. However, the conduction of
ing of 32 Power Modules, can provide 850 W in the 350–600 °C
heat along the depth direction takes some time, so environmental
temperature range [31].
factors cannot immediately affect the deep layer of the pavement
In order to increase the voltage generated by the Seebeck effect,
structure. As the depth increases, there would be lags between
many II-structured thermocouples which are composed of two dif-
pavement temperature and air temperature. In general, pavement
ferent materials with different Seebeck coefficients, as shown in
temperature is not only closely related to air temperature and solar
Fig. 3, are usually assembled into one TEG. Finding new materials
radiation, but also dependents on the cumulative effect of the two
[32] and using nanotechnology [33–35] are ways of greatly
over a period of time.
increasing the efficiency of thermoelectric conversion.

Fig. 2. (a) CMO-32-62S (b) CMO-32-62S CASCADE [30].

 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
Table 2
Different pavement temperature in several latitudes.
Name of the town Latitude Longitude Average maximum daily pavement temperature in July
Wedena, Minnesota 46.4 95.1 48.6 °C
Plano, Iowa 40.7 93.0 56.5 °C
Clarksville, Virginia 36.2 78.5 55.6 °C
Dharan 26.2 50.0 \ 72 °C [43]
Due to the difference of air temperature and solar radiation all
over the world, pavement temperature is different. America has
developed road weather information system (RWIS) to collect
and transmit weather and road condition information. According
to the data collected from RWIS, we calculated the average daily
maximum pavement temperature in July in different latitudes,
showing in the first three rows of Table 2. In general, the lower lat-
itudes, the higher air temperature and the greater the amount of
solar radiation. Therefore, the pavement at lower latitudes has
higher temperature. In addition, as shown in Table 2, pavement
temperature is easily to reach around 50 °C. High pavement tem-
perature provides the basis for the use of thermoelectric technol-
ogy to collect electric energy from roads.
Actually, pavement temperature profile is equally important in
the application of thermoelectric technology in asphalt pavement.
Fig. 4 shows the pavement temperature profile of a road in Egle-
tons (University of Limoges, France) (26 July 2012) [38]. This Fig-
ure aimed to compare numerical and experimental temperature,
but here, we only focused on the experimental temperature. As
we can see in Fig. 4, there are large temperature differences among
different depth. For example, at 15 pm, the temperature difference
between pavement surface and the depth of 13 cm is around 18 °C.
TEGs can use this temperature difference to generate energy from
roads.
In addition to measuring pavement temperature, many scholars
have established many models to predict pavement temperature
profile. These models can be divided into two categories, the theo-
retical analysis model [39,40] and the statistical analysis model
[36,41,42]. The theoretical analysis model has a strong universal-
ity. However, with development of data processing technology,
the statistical analysis model has become more popular [41]. The
development of prediction models for asphalt pavement will sup-
port the application of thermoelectric technology in asphalt
pavement.
Fig. 4. Temperature evolutions of different depth in pavement structure [38].
5
Maximum daily pavement temperature in July
55.3 °C
63.7 °C
59.6 °C
4. The configuration of SHTE-AP
The heat stored in asphalt pavement needs to be conducted to
the TEGs. According to the difference of conducting methods, there
are two main configurations of SHTE-AP. One is using liquid system
to conduct heat. A pipeline system is placed in the pavement and
uses the heat collected by the pavement to heat the liquid (mainly
water) in the pipeline. Power is generated by the temperature dif-
ference between hot liquid and cold liquid. The second is using
solid system to conduct heat. The heat generated by asphalt pave-
ments is conducted from solid (mainly aluminum plate) to TEGs
which are embedded in the road or the roadside. Power is gener-
ated by the temperature difference between aluminum and cold
source, such as the deeper structure of pavement.
4.1. Liquid system
In 1979, Wendel started to study the use of pipes placed in the
road to collect and store heat [44]. This technique is called pipe-
pavement (PP) and is mainly used to ease the urban heat island
effect and melt snow/ice on the road surface. The main composi-
tion of PP is shown in Fig. 5. Metallic or nonmetallic pipes are
placed under the surface of PP. The inner structure of PP with high
temperature will heat the fluid in the pipes, and a heat exchanger
will generate and store the energy from the fluid in the pipes. In
order to improve the efficiency of PP, many researches have been
conducted to study the influence factors, such as materials of pipe,
diameter of pipe, rate of flow, space of pipe, depth of pipe and ther-
mal property of pavement. The results are summarized in Table 3.
As long as a cold source is found, the temperature difference
between the liquid in pipes and the cold source can be used to gen-
erate electricity. Hasebe et al. first designed this system that used
pipes to collect electric energy in 2006 [53]. He used the high tem-
perature of the road to heat the liquid and used the temperature
6 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818

Fig. 5. The main composition of PP [45].

Table 3
Influence factors of PP.

Factors Methods Conclusion

Materials of pipe Compare two kinds of materials of pipes: metal and polymer
Test the heat collection efficiency of solar collectors with three pipe
materials: Galvanized steel, propyleneglycol and polyvinyl chloride
(PVC)
Diameter of pipe Conduct large-scale experiments and perform a numerical simulation
to test four kinds of diameter of pipe: 6.4 mm, 12.5 mm, 19 mm,
25 mm
Rate of flow The rate of flow is determined in three conditions: 70L/h, 80L/h and
100L/h
Space of pipe Use finite element method to study different spaces of pipe: 100 mm,
150 mm, 200 mm
Depth of pipe Use numerical model to study different depth of pipe: 0.06 m,
0.075 m, 0.09 m, 0.105 m, 0.12 m
Find the proper depth of pipe for collecting heat
Thermal property of pavement Explore the effect of adding conductive fillers (limestone powder and
graphite) on the heat collection efficiency in asphalt concrete
Polymer pipes and metal pipes both can be used [46]
The daily efficiency of the steel pipe is higher than the
other two plastic pipes [47]
25 mm has the best effect, but the difference between
25 mm and 19 mm is small [48]
An increase in rate of flow will increase the efficiency
of heat collection [45]
The results show that reducing the space of pipe can
improve the efficiency of the system [49]
When the total heating time and lost energy rate are
lowest, the depth of pipe is recommended as 0.06 m
[50]
Pipe should be embedded at the surface of road based
on the thermal conductivity of pavement [51]
Adding conductive fillers increases the heat collection
efficiency [52]

difference between the high-temperature liquid and the water in
the river to generate electricity through TEGs (see Fig. 6). The road
temperature can reduce from 60 °C to 30 °C and the generated
power can reach 0.3 W. This system is called pipe-pavement-
thermoelectric generator system (PP-TEG system) [54].
However, it cannot be ignored that the PP-TEG system has some
limitations:
- Pipes placed in the road will affect the strength of the pavement
structure [55];
- Because pipes are buried in the road, maintenance and repair
costs are high;
- If pipes are broken, water or other liquid inside the pipe will
seep out, which will reduce the service life of the road.
To avoid these problems, Garcia and Partl [56] studied an air
duct. They created artificial gaps in the road surface, and the
temperature difference between the road surface and the environ-
ment produced airflow that could generate a certain amount of
energy by wind turbines, which lowered the temperature of the
pavement in summer. However, Garcia and Partl did not use TEGs
to generate electricity, but this study provided a good idea to solve
the inadequacies of the PP-TEGs system.
4.2. Solid system
In addition to studying air ducts, there are other ideas to solve
the deficiencies of the PP-TEGs system mentioned above which are
directly using the TEGs in the road surface or to find alternative
heat conducting modules (such as the aluminum sheet) to replace
pipes.
In 2012, Wu and Yu [57] launched the earliest research in this
area. They made holes in the middle of the asphalt concrete sam-
ple. An aluminum bar was passed through the hole and a TEG
 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
Fig. 6. Pipe-pavement-thermoelectric generator system (PP-TEG system) [53].
was placed on the top of the aluminum bar. The temperature dif-
ference between the TEG and the aluminum bar was used to gen-
erate electricity. Because the power of the TEG was small, they
used charge pump IC S-882Z to increase the voltage, which can
reach 2 V to supply the LED lamp. This is just an early exploration
of TEGs used in asphalt pavement. Although the thermoelectric
conversion efficiency, optimal structure and the impact of vehicle
load on the thermoelectric module have not been analyzed, it pro-
vides ideas for the following research.
Further, Wu and Yu [58] used computer-aided design to find the
optimal structure of this power collection device. The width of the
heat collection sheet, the length of the aluminum strip, and the
heat transfer process were analyzed to examine the influence of
these factors on the output stability of the apparatus, thereby
determining the optimal structure of the apparatus. The output
power of the device was 0.02w at the optimal structure
(4 cm  4 cm  0.5 cm aluminum sheet and 59 cm aluminum
sheet length), and 1000 J of heat could be produced in one day. This
study systematically researches the efficiency of the heat collection
device designed by Wu and Yu and the optimal structure of the
system, but does not consider the effect of the placement of the
device on the road performance.
Zhang et al. [59] used the EC1-12705 thermoelectric generator.
The aluminum sheet was placed on the top of the thermoelectric
generator, and the heat sink was placed on the bottom of the
TEG. Both upper and lower parts were coated with silicone grease
to form a thermoelectric device. The thermoelectric device was
buried 2  3 cm depth from the road surface, and the laying
Fig. 7. The energy harvesting system [60].
7
density of the thermoelectric device was 44 per square meter. At
this depth and density, the thermoelectric device got the highest
voltage. The rutting test verified that the thermoelectric device
could still work normally under the vehicle loadings.
Although Zhang et al. showed that TEGs could work under vehi-
cle loads, there are still deficiencies when TEGs are directly buried
in the road. For example, the maintenance of thermoelectric mod-
ules is difficult, and the insertion of thermoelectric modules will
reduce the service life of the road. Therefore, researchers have con-
sidered not directly placing TEGs below the road surface, but col-
lecting the heat at the road surface through the heat conducting
device (mostly, aluminum sheet) and conducting the heat to the
TEGs outside the road surface.
Hu et al. [60] designed a SHTE-AP that used a heat-conducting
aluminum sheet as a heat transfer body (see Fig. 7) which could
avoid the disadvantages of burying TEGs directly in the road. The
system consists of a solar collector system (thermally conductive
asphalt concrete and aluminum sheets for heat conducting), a
power generation system (multiple TEGs), and an electric energy
storage and conversion system (boost converter and battery pack).
Through dynamic simulation and field test, it was found that the
embedded aluminum sheets could play a role in heat conduction.
When the temperature difference across TEGs was 25 °C, the sys-
tem’s output open circuit voltage was 1.1 V. The system could
reduce the asphalt road surface temperature and provide power
for city road lighting.
Datta et al. [2] also studied the use of metals to conduct heat,
but they used ‘‘Z” shaped metal sheets whose size was obtained
8 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818

by finite element simulation, as shown in Fig. 8. They analyzed two
slightly larger TEGs and four smaller TEGs. The modules were
placed on shoulders. They also assessed the cost of the TEGs. The
cost of the 2 TEGs and 4 TEGs (excluding installations) was $94
and $190. In the hot weather conditions of southern Texas, a
64 mm  64 mm TEG could generate 10mW of electricity a day
for eight hours. Datta et al.’s research is more systematic and ana-
lyzes the cost of the system. Using multiple TEGs to expand this
prototype can generate enough power to continuously supply
power for the LED lights in the remote area and self-powered elec-
tronic road signs. But, the cost of TEGs is high and the materials of
metal plate need further research.
Jiang et al. [7] did not use the roadbed as a cold source, but arti-
ficially set the water tank as the cold source of the system. The rest
of the design was similar to Datta’s. The heat collection system is
shown in Fig. 9. Jiang et al. chose aluminum (size
300 mm  60 mm  3 mm) as the heat transfer medium consider-
ing that the strength of aluminum could withstand road loads and
it had a good heat transfer coefficient. This study used TEG-199 as a
TEG to conduct experiments to test the operational effectiveness of
the system. The results showed that the system could effectively
reduce the temperature of the road. The maximum temperature
could be reduced by 9 °C in summer and the peak voltage in sum-
mer was 0.564 V. This study focuses on the cooling of the road sur-
face, and the results are verified by experiments. It should be
mentioned that the scale of the field testing in this study is small
and more accurate results require a extensive field testing.
Jiang et al. [61] paid more attention to the exploration of power
generation ability. The system’s heat conducting material and TEGs
were the same as those discussed above. The test results in this
paper showed that the output voltage of the system was 0.6 to
0.7 V in the summer when the temperature difference was 25–
30 °C. This means that on a 1 km long and 10 m wide road, this sys-
tem can produce 160kWh of electricity for 8 h.
Tahami et al. [10] recently developed a new configuration of
SHTE-AP. The main structure of the configuration was similar to
Datta’s study, except the heat sink changed to a coolant module
which consisted of phase change materials (PCM), aerogel cover,
foam box and PVC box. Finite element simulations and field testing
showed that optimized configuration of SHTE-AP could enhance
the efficiency of thermoelectric power generation.
As mentioned above, researchers have done lots of efforts in this
area, but there are still many challenges. First of all, the cost of
SHTE-AP is expensive and the economy analysis will be discussed

Fig. 8. Schematic of the thermoelectric energy harvesting prototype in pavement [2].

Fig. 9. The heat collection system [7].

 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818 9

in depth in Section 7.2. Secondly, the efficiency of SHTE-AP is not

satisfactory and the generation power is low. Finally, long-term
performance of SHTE-AP has hardly been studied.
In recent years, researchers have also combined piezoelectric
technology with thermoelectric effect to enhance the efficiency
of the power generator system. Meddad’s research [62] was based
on the PZT (P188) quartz silica which could be a thermoelectric
converter [63]. The TEGs (TEC 112706) was used to excite the
piezoelectric module for energy conversion. The actual data acqui-
sition was done by the ChipKIT Max32. The PZT-TEG system has a
75% increase in harvest power compared to the conventional tech-
nologies. This provides another idea for the application of TEGs.
Fig. 11. Relationship between time and power of SHTE-AP [61].

5. Performance of SHTE-AP

To reveal the performance of SHTE-AP, which mainly means the

efficiency of energy harvesting and temperature controlling, repre-
sentative research results are discussed in this section.
Hasebe et al. first designed PP-TEG system for collecting electric
energy and discussed the performance of PP-TEG system. The rela-
tion between the electronic load and power output is shown in
Fig. 10 [53]. It should be noted that the temperature of cool water
was 297.2 K, and the temperature of hot water was 308.7 K,
323.1 K and 337.7 K, respectively. The output power is related to
the temperature of cool and hot water. However, the value is a lit-
tle low.
Guo and Lu [54] got a more interesting result based on the
Hasebe’s and other scholars’ research. According to Guo’s research,
the PP-TEG system in the Florida pavement network could obtain Fig. 12. The temperature of the traditional asphalt pavement and thermoelectric
energy output of 55GWh per day. The absorption coefficient of asphalt pavement (May 26th, 2017) [61].
asphalt concrete pavements chose 0.85. The efficiency of a pipe
system collecting thermal energy chose 0.15 [64]. Guo assumed SHTE-AP on pavement temperature reduction, as shown in
the performance of thermoelectric is 8% which was lower than Fig. 12. In May, the maximum temperature drop could reach
Kraemer’s research [65]. The energy output of the PP-TEG system 10 °C, it can be concluded that the cooling effect was distinct.
in the Florida pavement network was quite impressive. However, As we can see from the above discussion, the performance of
the calculation process is a little idealized, and more actual condi- SHTE-AP becomes better and better. This is because of the
tions need to be considered. It is better to conduct field experiment improvement of materials and design of SHTE-AP.
to verify the calculation results.
As for using solid to conduct heat, Datta et al. did some
researches. As mentioned above, they used metal to conduct heat. 6. Methods for efficiency improvement of SHTE-AP
The output of the prototype in the field experiment was tested and
the output reached its peak at around 3:50 pm which was about Generally, the generation power of TEGs is not high. When the
15.2mW [2]. temperature difference is 350 °C, the power of CMO-25-42S (a kind
Recently, Jiang [7,61] did a lot of studies. The relationship of TEG) is 1.37w. Usually, we can get a higher generated power
between time and power of SHTE-AP is shown in Fig. 11. It showed from four levels. One is to improve the conversion efficiency of
that the maximum of power could achieve 0.045 W which was TEGs; the second is how to set the optimal structure of SHTE-AP
higher than Upal’s research. Jiang also studied the effect of when the TEGs has been selected; and the third is to change the
properties of the pavement, such as porosity, etc., thus increases
the thermoelectric conversion efficiency indirectly by improving
the thermal conduction process. The last is using maximum power
point tracking algorithm in conjunction with DC/DC converter.

6.1. Improving the conversion efficiency of TEGs

To improve the conversion efficiency of TEGs, three aspects can

be considered:

(1) Increasing ZT, namely, looking for a material with high ZT;
(2) Finding cheap materials, so that a TEGs can be embedded
with many II-structured thermocouples, thus increasing
power;
(3) Raising the working temperature difference of the material,
so that the material can work in a large temperature differ-
ence environment. However, the temperature difference in
Fig. 10. The relation between the electronic load and power output [53]. asphalt pavement is quite limited.
10 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
The first two aspects can be solved by discovering new TEGs
materials. Many researches have been conducted to find new and
high performance materials [26]. One successful direction of devel-
oping new performance materials is the reduction of lattice ther-
mal conductivity. The thermoelectric oxides, filled skutterudites
and clathrates are candidate new performance materials. And sci-
entists believe that low-dimensional structures (including quan-
tum wells, quantum wires and quantum dots) are the direction
of resulting in high ZT [66]. And it is reported that when 1% cerium
or ytterbium is added to Bi2Te3, the performance of thermoelectric
modules increases 25%. This phenomenon is explained by cerium
or ytterbium affecting the crystalline structure of alloy and opti-
mizing Seebeck effect [26].
6.2. Optimizing the design of SHTE-AP
For PP-TEGs, the configuration refers to the pipe diameter, pipe
laying depth, pipe spacing, water velocity, water temperature, etc.
Nasir et al. [67] considered two road conditions (urban roads,
rural roads) using numerical methods to explore the influence of
four factors (pipe diameter, pipe laying depth, water flow rate
and temperature of water) on the heat collection and road surface
temperature reduction. The study found the increase of pipe diam-
eter and inlet water flow will improve the surface temperature
reduction. However, the study also pointed out that the pipe diam-
eter and inlet water flow rate were unnecessary greater than
0.05 m and 1.25 m/s.
Gao et al. [45] explored the effect of the slab solar collection
process. The results showed that, within a certain range, systems
with small pipe spacing obtained a large efficiency of heat collec-
tion, which could reach 42%. Pipe layout and fluid parameters
had a great influence on the heat collection effect.
For a system which using solid to conduct heat, the influence of
the buried density and depth of TEGs on the thermoelectric conver-
sion efficiency is investigated. Zhang et al. [59] embedded TEGs
(TEC1-12705) in asphalt concrete sample with different buried
depths (10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm) and compared
their output voltage values. The highest voltage value was found
when the buried depth was 20 mm and 30 mm. It is found that
for the size of the plate (300mm300 mm), it would be better to
embed four TEGs. Li et al. [68] studied the temperature field in
asphalt pavement and found that the optimal depth of TEGs is 2–
3 cm, which was the same as Zhang’s conclusion.
6.3. Changing the thermal-electric properties of the pavement
Air void content (porosity) can affect the heat conducting prop-
erties of asphalt concrete [69]. Hassn et al. [70] measured the ther-
mal conductivity and specific heat capacity of asphalt mixture
slabs with different air void contents. The results showed that
the higher the air void content in the asphalt mixture, the higher
the steady-state temperature and the faster the heating and cool-
ing rates could achieve. The main reason was that asphalt mixture
slabs with a high air void content will have low thermal conductiv-
ity and specific heat capacity.
Therefore, the dense asphalt mixture has a high thermal con-
ductivity, which is favorable for the TEGs to collect heat.
Ghahari et al. [33] explored concrete with thermoelectric prop-
erties. They found that the addition of ZnO nanoparticles improved
the thermoelectric properties of the cement paste which was due
to the formation of Zn(OH)2. The results showed that the Seebeck
coefficient of cement particles increased by 17% after the nanopar-
ticles were added to the mixture. Using thermoelectric effect in
concrete pavement is also a good choice.
6.4. Using maximum power point tracking algorithm in conjunction
with DC/DC converter
The TEGs can generate electric energy, however, the rectifica-
tion and storage of electric energy cannot be ignored. The effects
of rectification and storage also affect thermoelectric conversion
efficiency. An electrical converter is needed to store electric energy
in batteries or capacitors.
Electrical converter is mainly DC/DC converters, and its conver-
sion efficiency should be closer to 1 as possible. Selecting specific
DC/DC converters should depend on the voltage of the TEGs and
the requirements of the application equipment. ‘‘Maximum power
point tracking” (MPPT) or ‘‘maximum efficiency point tracking”
algorithms are generally used to maximize the power extracted
from TEGs [27]. We compare four kinds of MPPT algorithms, which
are perturb & observe (P&O), extremum seeking control (ESC),
open-circuit voltage method and fractional short-circuit MPPT.
During four kinds of MPPT method mentioned above, P&O
method is widely used because it is easy to operate [71]. Yu and
Chau [72] used P&O in the waste heat energy recovery system.
The MMPT conversion efficiency can achieve 97% when using
P&O method [73]. The power conditioning system in Yu’s study
is shown in Fig. 13. The power conditioning system includes TEGs,

C uk converter, battery and MPPT control. In their study, the power
conditioning system works stably.
Phillip et al. [74] compared the merits of the P&O with ESC. The
results showed that the output powers of P&O and ESC were sim-
ilar. However, the output power when using ESC method con-
verged faster. Othman et al. [75] also compared P&O with the
ESC. They found the advantages of ESC were not obvious. Monte-
cucco et al. [76] used another MPPT algorithm, which was the
open-circuit voltage method. The tests showed that the converter
based on the open-circuit voltage method could set the optimum
operating point almost instantaneously. More important, it does
not require significant computational power. Laird and Lu [77] pre-
sented a fractional short-circuit MPPT algorithm which could get a
more stable output. Experimental results showed the converter has
a high gain over the P&O algorithm.
These MPPT methods also can be combined [78]. The overall
optimization must be studied to make the MPPT algorithm match
the structure of the TEGs and load requirements of the TEGs.
Besides, when choosing the MPPT algorithm and DC/DC converter,
the cost must be considered [79].
7. Future research recommendations
7.1. The spin Seebeck effect
Advances in science and technology have led people to dis-
cover a new phenomenon that can be used in thermoelectric
effect. In 1988, the giant magnetoresistive effect was discovered
by scientists which was considered to be the beginning of spin-
based electronics [80,81]. Spin-based electronics refers to the
addition of spin degrees of freedom to conventional charge-
based electronics. It can increase data processing speed, reduce
power consumption, and increase the integration density com-
pared to conventional semiconductor devices [82]. Based on
the discovery of spin-based electronics, the spin Seebeck effect
(SSE), of which driving power is electron spin, is investigated
[83]. SSE means a spin current can be generated by placing
the magnetic material in the temperature gradient. The spin cur-
rent can be converted into an electromotive force via inverse-
spin-Hall effect (ISHE). The advantage of SSE over Seebeck effect
is that it can generate electric energy from insulators, because
SSE also appears in magnetic insulators [84].
 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
Fig. 13. The power conditioning system in Yu’s study [72].
Fig. 14. Developing LSSE-based TEG ((a) flexible device; (b) multilayer films) [16].
There are two mainly device structures based on SSE, the longi-
tudinal configuration (so-called longitudinal SSE (LSSE)) and trans-
verse configuration. LSSE is suitable for thermoelectric generators
for its structure is simple and versatile [16]. There are three main
advantages of thermoelectric generators based on LSSE. The first
one is the device-design easily. The LSSE-based TEG is combined
with magnetic insulators and conductive films and does not
require careful thermal design. The second is the LSSE-based TEG
output can be increased simply by extending the LSSE-based TEG
area because the amount of spin current enlarges with the device
area extending [85]. The third is the LSSE is not subject to
Wiedemann-Franz law, because heat and charge current flow in
magnetic and adjacent metal respectively [86].
Based on these advantages of LSSE-based TEGs, some new kinds
of structures of LSSE-based TEGs have been developed, such as
flexible devices and multilayer films (see Fig. 14(a) and (b)). As
we know, the conventional thermoelectric generators almost are
rigid. In contrast, LSSE-based TEGs can be flexible by spraying a fer-
rimagnetic thin film on a flexible polyimide substrate and sputter-
ing a metal film (mostly, Pt film) on the ferrimagnetic thin film [87]
(see Fig. 14(a)). In order to increase the performance of LSSE-based
TEGs, multilayer systems have been investigated. The voltage of
multilayer LSSE-based TEG increases significantly with the num-
bers of layer increasing [88].
The flexible and multilayer LSSE-based TEGs are suitable for the
application in asphalt pavement. On the one hand, flexible LSSE-
based TEGs provide more forms of SHTE-AP. The asphalt pavement
will settle due to the load, which may cause damage to the conven-
tional rigid TEGs. On the other hand, multilayer LSSE-based TEGs
can provide more amount of power. This is significate because
the efficiency of SHTE-AP is low. Therefore, the flexible and multi-
layer LSSE-based TEGs will facilitate applications of SHTE-AP in
roads. It can be concluded that the utilization of the spin Seebeck
11
effect in asphalt pavement is a potential method for the road
energy harvesting and temperature controlling.
7.2. Economy analysis
On the one hand, the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) can be
used to assess the cost of thermoelectric generation of SHTE-AP.
The LCOE provides a simple and decisive way for both nonrenew-
able energy sources and renewable sources that compares capital
costs, operations and maintenance (O&M) and so on. The LCOE
($/kWh) is defined by Eq. (5).
Annualized Capital Expenditure þ O&M
LCOE ¼ ð5Þ
Annual System Output
The LCOE of thermoelectric generation of SHTE-AP in [10] is 0.9
$/kWh. The unit cost of electricity generated from fossil fuels con-
sists of two parts, one is unit sale price, and the other is the social
cost of carbon dioxide emissions. In [10], the unit cost of electricity
generated from fossil fuels is estimated at 0.2 $/kWh. In conclu-
sion, thermoelectric generation from asphalt pavement is not eco-
nomically competitive with traditional power generation.
On the other hand, Table 4 shows the energy output, cost and
revenue of SHTE-AP which were calculated based on the typical
configuration reported in [2]. As shown in Table 4, SHTE-AP has
low efficiency and high cost. It needs at least six years to cover
investment cost.
However, it should be mentioned that the application of ther-
moelectric technology in asphalt pavement is still in the early stage
of development. Technology readiness level (TRL) is used to repre-
sent the maturity of SHTE-AP [89,90]. TRL is based on a scale from
1 to 9 with 9 meaning the most mature technology. The TRL of
SHTE-AP is 3 [6]. Therefore, SHTE-AP needs further research and
its potential cannot be ignored.
12 X. Zhu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 228 (2019) 116818
Table 4
Energy output, cost and revenue of SHTE-AP.
System configuration Energy output
Four TEGs (64 mm  64 mm) 1.07 KWh/lane-mile/year
7.3. Other recommendations
Based on the comprehensive review, other future research rec-
ommendations are proposed:
(1) When embedding TEGs in the road, it will cause stress con-
centration and the decrease of road performance. Therefore,
the integrity between energy harvesting and road perfor-
mance must be taken into account. In addition, the traffic
loading and some weather conditions (mostly, moisture)
will cause damage to the TEGs embedded in the road. Some
methods need to be developed to prevent this.
(2) The output power is one of the most important parts of
SHTE-AP. However, the generation power of TEGs is not
high. A configuration to enlarge the temperature difference
between the hot side and cold side of TEGs should be
designed, thus the TEGs can provide a higher voltage. Other-
wise, more TEGs should be used in SHTE-AP, which requires
cheaper TEGs.
(3) The SHTE-AP can decrease the road surface temperature,
however seldom study consider the benefits bringing from
the temperature decrease, such as mitigating pavement rut-
ting and urban heat island effect. The quantitative study
should be conducted in this area. In addition, application
for the power generated from SHTE-AP should be compre-
hensively discussed. For example, SHTE-AP can provide
power for in-suit wireless monitoring sensors for road struc-
ture health monitoring, thus solving one of the main limita-
tions of wireless sensors.
(4) The cost of SHTE-AP in life-cycle design, including install-
ment, maintenance and repair, should be considered.
Besides, the environmental impact of SHTE-AP during its
life-cycle stages cannot be ignored.
8. Conclusions
This article conducts a comprehensive review of SHTE-AP,
which is a green energy utilization method and it can reduce the
high-temperature diseases of asphalt pavement.
The renewable thermal energy generated by asphalt pavement
can be converted to electric energy through TEGs. The study of
asphalt pavement temperature field proves that the temperature
gradients in asphalt pavement structure are high enough to generate
electric energy through TEGs. This review discusses two mainly con-
figurations of SHTE-AP. Several researches have confirmed that
SHTE-AP can reduce the temperature of the road surface and collect
energy for LED, in-suit wireless monitoring sensors or other devices.
The development of SHTE-AP depends on the development of ther-
moelectric effect, especially thermoelectric materials. Magnetic
insulators and conductive films used in LSSE should be studied fully.
Besides, increasing the efficiency of TEGs is one of the key issues.
However, at present, the generation power of SHTE-AP is not
satisfactory. The generation power of SHTE-AP can be improved
by enhancing the conversion efficiency of TEGs, setting the optimal
configuration of the system, changing the thermal-electric proper-
ties of the pavement and using maximum power point tracking
algorithm in conjunction with DC/DC converter.
The flexible and multilayer LSSE-based TEGs are suitable for the
application in asphalt pavement and are the future research
Cost Revenue
$1.19 million/lane-mile $0.214 million/lane-mile/year
direction. Application of thermoelectric technology in asphalt
pavement is still in the early stage of development, and it needs
further research.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgements
The work described in this paper is supported by the National
Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1600200), National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. U1633116), Shanghai Pujiang
Program, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities.
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