Piezoelectric energy harvesting

from pavement 14
Hao Wang1 and Abbas Jasim2
1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, United States, 2Department of Highway and Transportation
Engineering, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

14.1 Introduction
Energy harvesting is a promising technique that can help to solve the global
energy challenge without depleting natural resources. As one of the green energy
solutions, energy harvesting can reduce greenhouse gas emission generated
with traditional energy sources. Piezoelectric, thermoelectric, electromag-
netic, and photovoltaic techniques are some examples of energy harvesting
technologies that can be used to collect energy from the ambient environment
to generate electricity nowadays. These technologies work in different princi-
ples and thus have different application requirements and energy conversion
efficiencies [1].
The roadway is designed to provide serviceability and durability under repeated
traffic loading and climate conditions. The pavement deforms under truck loads and
experiences high temperature in summer due to solar radiation. There are many
opportunities to collect waste kinetic energy (vibrations, deflections, etc.) and envi-
ronmental energy (solar, heat, etc.) from the roadway environment. In particular,
mechanical energy can be converted into electricity via stress or vibration using
piezoelectric transducers placed on pavement surface or embedded in the pavement.
It is projected that truck traffic will continuously grow in the highway network of
the United States due to the desire of economic development for freight transporta-
tion. Therefore, there is a high potential to harvest kinetic energy from pavement
using piezoelectric materials.
This chapter provides a comprehensive review on the topic of piezoelectric
energy harvesting from pavement. Various transducer designs of piezoelectric
energy harvesting systems are introduced and their advantages and disadvan-
tages are compared. The previous work that studied piezoelectric energy har-
vesting in the pavement was synthesized, including theoretical analysis,
laboratory tests, and field trials. Different ways of using the harvested energy
are discussed. Finally, the challenges and recommendations for future studies
are provided.

Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818981-8.00014-X

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
368 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

14.2 Piezoelectric materials and principle of energy

harvesting
Piezoelectric materials generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical
stress and change dimensions when an electric field is applied across the material.
These are known respectively as the direct and the inverse piezoelectric effect [2].
Piezoelectric materials can be classified into the following categories: (1) single
crystalline material (such as quartz), (2) piezoceramics (such as lead zirconate tita-
nate, PZTs), (3) piezoelectric semiconductor (such as ZnO2), (4) polymer (such as
polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF), (5) piezoelectric composites, and (6) glass cera-
mics (such as Li2Si2O5 and Ba2TiSiO6). In addition, PZT fibers can be mixed with
resin to form macro fiber composite or PZT composite. The mechanical and piezo-
electric properties vary among these different piezoelectric materials. PZT material
has been used in many applications among commercial products due to the high
efficiency of electricity generation.
Increasing the applied stress or strain on piezoelectric material that provides
more mechanical energy is one of the main methods to increase the power genera-
tion. The other method is to use the coupling mode more efficiently. Fig. 14.1
shows two possible coupling methods of piezoelectric material: the d31 and d33
mode, depending on material poling and applied force directions. The coupling
mode is dependent on the relationship between the direction of the applied load and
the poling direction. The coupling mode is d33 mode when the applied load is paral-
lel to the poling direction, while the d31 mode is defined when the applied load is
perpendicular to the poling direction. The d33 mode provides higher electromechan-
ical coupling when compared with the d31 mode for most typical piezoelectric
materials [4].
The piezoelectric charge constant (effective piezoelectric strain constant) and the
piezoelectric voltage constant are governing the magnitude of energy conversion.

Figure 14.1 Piezoelectric material coupling modes.

Source: After [3] S. Roundy, P.K. Wright, J. Rabaey, A study of low level vibrations as a
power source for wireless sensor nodes. Comput. Commun. 26 (11) (2003) 1131 1144.
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement 369

Quality factor is another important factor of piezoelectric material because the

greater quality factor indicates the less damping and heat generation during energy
conversion. In order to increase the efficiency of piezoelectric energy harvesting,
the preferred material properties are higher piezoelectric coefficient, higher quality,
and lower elastic compliance.
For piezoelectric material, the stored electric energy under a low-frequency load
can be calculated using Eq. 14.1 [5].

1 1 ST So A
UE 5 PEAt 5 V02 r (14.1)
2 2 t

where UE is the electric energy storage in the piezoelectric device, P is the polariza-
tion caused by the vehicle load, E is the inner electric field, V0 is the electric poten-
tial in an open circuit, A is the area of PZT, t is the thickness of PZT, and srT is the
relative dielectric constant of PZT.
From Eq. 14.1, the density of stored electric energy can be obtained using
Eq. 14.2.

1 1
UE 5 PE 5 dgT 2 (14.2)
2 2

where d is the piezoelectric charge constant, g is the piezoelectric voltage constant,

and T is the external stress.
From Eq. 14.2, it can be concluded that UE is related to (d
g) value if the exter-
nal stress is constant. Therefore, the PZT materials with a high (d
g) value are
improved for energy harvesting.

14.3 Piezoelectric transducer designs and types

For the application of piezoelectric energy harvesting in pavement, four common types
of piezoelectric materials have been used, which are cantilever beam transducer, disk-/
rod-shaped transducer, cymbal/bridge transducer, and PZT composite layer.

14.3.1 Cantilever beam transducer

Bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam is assembled with beam material and two
piezoelectric ceramic strips, conductive adhesive, and two piezoelectric films by
series or parallel connection, Toward the cantilever end is a block that can enhance
the vibration amplitude of cantilever beam as well as alter the vibration frequency.
Fig. 14.2 presents the illustration of a bimorph cantilever beam.
Many factors can affect the energy output of cantilever beam, including mainly
coupling mode, frequency, thickness and type of material used for each layer of the
cantilever beam, total length of cantilever beam, and tip mass. Jiang et al. [6]
370 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

Mass

PZT Brass

Figure 14.2 Illustration of a bimorph cantilever beam with PZT.

studied the effects of material thickness and tip mass of cantilever beam. They con-
cluded that by reducing the cantilever thickness and increasing the tip mass, the
maximum harvested power was achieved. The length and width of tip mass were
also found affecting the output of the harvested power [7].
Kim et al. [8] assessed piezoelectric cantilever transducer and placed them on
speed bumps and underground, respectively. They observed that the electric power
generated from energy harvester on speed bump that was much less compared to
the underground one. The harvested energy changed with vehicle speed and the
cantilever vibration method.

14.3.2 Disk-/rod-shaped transducer

The most frequently used piezoelectric transducer in pavement applications is disk/
rod-shaped PZT transducers due to its durability and easy fabrication, as shown in
Fig. 14.3. The transducer has two main geometric variables, which are diameter and
thickness. As the diameter-to-thickness ratio is equal to or more than 5, it is usually
called disk-shaped transducers [9]. The geometry of PZT affects the stress applied
on the top surface of transducer and thus the harvested energy. In order to optimize
disk/rod geometry for energy harvesting application, the diameter-to-thickness ratio
need be adjusted [10].
The generated energy output, however, tends to be small concerning a single pie-
zoelectric transducer. Hence, multiple transducer arrays are often stacked, as shown
in Fig. 14.4. Zhao et al. [11] analyzed the effect of piezoelectric element geometry
on the performance of an energy harvesting unit. The study considered multiple
PZT rods with circular, square, and hexagonal cross sections. The finite-element
(FE) analysis results showed that circular cross-sectional rods were preferable to
maximize power output.
Jiang et al. [12] created a two-degree-of-freedom model to analyze the energy
harvester performance, which was made up of three piezoelectric stacks per unit.
Using the findings from electromechanical model and experimental tests, it was
clearly proven that the energy harvester was able to produce 200 mW electric
power to cater to electrical devices used in transportation infrastructure.

14.3.3 Cymbal and bridge transducer

The cymbal transducer can be regarded as a developed version upon Moonie trans-
ducer that can help diminish the PZT disk’s stress concentration and enhance
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement 371

z
V+

t Polarization

Electrode
V–

Figure 14.3 Illustration of disk/rod-shaped PZT transducer.

Figure 14.4 Illustration of stacked PZT for energy harvesting.

displacement. It includes two metal end caps with one piezoelectric ceramic disk
between them. The vertical load being applied on the end cap causes PZT disk hav-
ing radial stress that results in electric field due to piezoelectric effect. The bridge
transducer has a similar geometry to the cymbal transducer except that the shape is
square instead of circle square. Fig. 14.5A and B illustrates the geometry of cymbal
and bridge transducers, respectively.
Zhao et al. [5] used FE analysis for evaluating the cymbal transducer’s perfor-
mance and observed that the potential electric energy can be enhanced by increas-
ing the transducer diameter and cavity base. Yao et al. [13] examined the arch and
arc designs of steel caps in a bridge transducer, as shown in Fig. 14.5C and D,
respectively. It was found that bridge transducer with arc cap created an electric
voltage of 232 V under 0.4 MPa pressure, which was 78 V more compared to the
bridge transducer with trapezoidal cap. They found that although the trapezoidal
cap transducer could more effectively resist the applied pressure compared to the
arc and arch structures, the energy conversion efficiency was higher when the
curved cap was used.
In order to increase the power output of bridge transducer, Jasim et al. [14] and
Yesner et al. [15] proposed the new layered poling pattern (electrode configuration)
372 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

Steel end cap

Steel end cap

PZT

PZT

(A) (B)
Steel end cap Steel end cap

PZT PZT

(C) (D)

Figure 14.5 Illustration of PZT transducers for (A) cymbal, (B) bridge, (C) bridge with arc
cap, and (D) bridge with arch cap.

aluminum case

Copper sheets

Nylon sheets PZT sensor

Figure 14.6 Energy harvester with 64-transducer assembly [16].

that increased capacitance and piezoelectric coefficient of transducer and thus

energy harvesting performance. In their study, the geometry of new bridge trans-
ducer was optimized, taking into account the effects of mechanical stress on mate-
rial failure and power output. The results showed that the individual bridge
transducer with the new design generated an electrical potential of 556 V, creating
approximately 0.743 mJ of potential energy (open-circuit condition) under 0.7 MPa
external stress. Jasim et al. [16] further assembled 64 bridge transducers into an
energy harvester with aluminum packaging and evaluated its energy output and
fatigue life through laboratory experiment and numerical simulation (Fig. 14.6). It
was found that the simulation results were consistent with the measured power. The
output power of 2.1 mW was observed at 400 kΩ resistive load when the load was
70 kPa at 5 Hz.
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement 373

PZT composite layer

Asphalt pavement layer
Conductive asphalt +
pavement layer – Electrode
Asphalt pavement layer
Base layer

Figure 14.7 Illustration of PZT composite with conductive layers [18].

14.3.4 PZT composite

Another type of piezoelectric energy harvesting is to transform the entire pavement
layer into piezoelectric energy harvester using the composite of PZT fibers with
epoxy (serve as energy harvesting layer). The PZT composite improves flexibility
as compared to pure PZT and thus increases the fatigue life, although the energy
output is reduced. Panda et al. [17] installed flexible ceramic/polymer composite
strip on a test road as piezoelectric sensors for collecting traffic data, including
weight-in-motion to measure large vehicle loads.
Guo and Lu [18] proposed an innovative energy harvester system by placing PZT
composite sandwiched between two conductive asphalt layers (serve as electrodes), as
shown in Fig. 14.7. The conductive asphalt layer can be made by mixing steel fiber
and wool, graphite, or carbon fiber with asphalt, which may significantly reduce
the electrical resistivity of asphalt concrete from 1011 to 10 Ωm. The electrical
resistivity can further drop to 10 to 2 Ωm if the sand-asphalt mix was added with
8.76% of steel fibers [19]. Alternatively, nano iron oxide can be used for conductive
asphalt if the concern is that steel fiber or wool might be electrically eroded under
electric current.

14.3.5 Placement of piezoelectric transducer in pavement

The geometric design of piezoelectric transducer decides not only the output power
and power conversion efficiency of piezoelectric transducer, but also the way of
placement in the pavement. The cantilever beam transducer is usually installed on
pavement surface, while the disk/rod-shaped and cymbal/bridge transducer are usu-
ally embedded in the pavement layer. The PZT composite can be placed as a con-
tinuous layer in the pavement. The total harvested energy is small from single
transducer or layer of PZT material. In order to increase energy generation, multiple
piezoelectric transducers or layers can be assembled into an energy harvester sys-
tem with appropriate configuration of electrodes. On the other hand, the placement
of energy harvester may change pavement surface condition and the uniformity of
pavement layers and affect long-term pavement performance [20].
To protect the embedded energy harvester from the impact brought by vehicle
loading and ambient environment, protective package needs to be prepared with
appropriate insulation. Different package materials vary in terms of stiffness com-
patibility with surrounding pavement materials. The protective package needs to
have the capability to block fluid or any other chemical and contaminants from the
374 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

hosting material. The piezoelectric material shall not have contact with any fluid,
which may cause a short circuit of positive and negative poles of the material.
Another important function of the protective package is the ability of transferring
the stress applied by vehicles uniformly onto the piezoelectric material.

14.4 Previous studies of piezoelectric energy harvesting

in pavement
14.4.1 Theoretical studies
A number of theoretical studies have been conducted using analytical models and
numerical simulations to study each influencing factor of energy harvesting and
help to optimize the design of piezoelectric transducer. Table 14.1 summarizes the-
oretical studies in the literature on piezoelectric energy harvesting in roadways. The
results show that the transducer configuration affects the amount of energy harvest-
ing form pavement significantly. Papagiannakis et al. [21] and Roshani and
Dessouky [25] used disk/rod-shaped transducers while Jasim et al. [14,16], and
Moure et al. [22] used cymbal/bridge transducers. On the other hand, some
researchers used multilayer stack to increase power generation, such as Hu [23] and
Yang et al. [27]. Few studies used cantilever beam for energy harvesting in pave-
ment except the one by Song et al. [24]. The cantilever device showed that 1 km of
the road could generate around 2.95 kWh/h under vehicle wheel path, which is
much smaller than those obtained from other types of transducers. Vehicle weight,
loading frequency, loading magnitude, and embedded depth of the energy harvester
module are important factors that determine energy harvesting performance. There
is a positive relationship between the amount of generated energy and the loading
frequency and magnitude.

14.4.2 Laboratory and field studies

Laboratory and field studies have been performed to evaluate the actual power out-
put of piezoelectric energy harvesting. Table 14.2 summarizes the laboratory field
studies on piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement. Testing scenario and pie-
zoelectric transducer configurations are two important factors that affect the amount
of generated energy. In general, all studies prove that using higher piezoelectric
stress constant can improve the electrical output linearly. The stacked transducers
were used to increase the amount of generated power. The disk-shaped transducers
were tested by Roshani et al. [32,33], Xiong and Wang [34], and Wang et al. [36].
Several field studies were conducted for cantilever beam and disk/rod-shaped piezo-
electric transducers [34,35]. The field study by Innowattech company is the only
study that used large amounts of units to cover 1-km road [30]. The Innowattech
claimed that their technology could produce 200 kWh/h from 600 heavy vehicles
per hour traveling at a speed of 72 km/h.
Table 14.1 Theoretical studies on piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement.

Simulation assumption Transducer configuration Power output Reference

Rod elements Prototype I and IV generated 10 and 241 Watt-h [21]
per year/module under 30,000 average annual
daily traffic (AADT)
Cymbal Single transducer generated 16 μW under one [22]
heavy vehicle wheel
PVDF multilayer harvester N/A [23]
Piezoelectric cantilever beams N/A [24]
340, 680, 1020, and Package of 36 layers of stacked The power increased from 25 to 200 mW as the [12]
1360 N; 1, 2, 4, and 6 Hz piezoelectric wafers frequency increased from 1 to 6 Hz
2.1 5.6 kN One energy module contains 4, 8, or 16 The greatest output surpasses the maximum [25]
PZT disks, sandwiched by two copper voltage measuring ability of the oscilloscope
plates with 1.5-in. asphalt layer at the set at 80 V, when the system has 4 stacks of 2
top PZTs or 8 stacks of 2 PZTs
30, 60, and 120 m/s vehicle Thin rectangular piezoelectric transducer At 30 m/s, the system produced around 41.2 and [26]
speed; single wheel load size: 100 3 100 3 10 mm; depth of 47.26 mW under single and four-wheel load,
or four-single-wheel load PZT in pavement was 5 cm respectively
Under vehicle dynamic Nine piezoelectric disks (PZT-5H) The average output was 174 V [27]
loading of 0.7 MPa stacked in parallel inside
(laboratory test) 30 3 30 3 6.8 cm box (multilayer
stack)
0.7 MPa tire load using Bridge shape transducer with parallel The energy module with gap can produce [14]
finite-element simulation electrode 28.7 mW at 5 Hz
Mechanical testing and Ball-type protective pad Maximum output power of 50.41 mW [28,29]
simulation with loading
of 0.7 MPa and 15 Hz
frequency
376 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

Table 14.2 Laboratory and field studies on piezoelectric energy harvesting from
pavement.

Test scenarios Configuration Electric output Reference

Under 600 heavy Piezoelectric Piezoelectric generator [30]
vehicle/hour traveling generators with produced about
at a speed of 72 km/h a mechanical- 200 kWh per
electrical kilometer
association
Simulated traffic speeds 80 piezoelectric 48.2 μW due to heavy [31]
of 14 116 km/h generator traffic or 2.6 μW
cables without heavy traffic
20 km/h vehicle speed Cantilever energy The output was [8]
for speed bump and harvester with 7.61 mW for speed
28 km/h for 24 or 72 bump while the
underground transducers underground
generated 63.9 mW
Laboratory condition to Cylindrical The energy output [32,33]
simulate 8 km/h, tire piezoelectric estimated per
pressure of 0.82 MPa, unit prototypes was 360
and load of 40.03 kN W-h annually
Trucks at weight stations PZT disks The average power [34]
output was 3.1 mW
per truck. Only 15%
of the applied loading
was transmitted to
piezoelectric
materials
Average load of a single A multilayer The open-circuit voltage [27]
wheel was 4.41 kN at stack array reached 280 V
2 7 km/h piezoelectric
transducer
Speed range from 5 to Cantilever beam- The total energy [35]
20 km/h at the field based generated by one
piezoelectric piezoelectric
cantilever from one
car is 1.26 mJ
Wheel load of 25 kN and Disk shape Output power was [36]
contact stress at 22.8 mW
0.7 MPa and 10 Hz

14.5 Use and storage of harvested energy

The application of piezoelectric materials provides an alternative source for electri-
cal power generation. Piezoelectric materials can be used for effective energy har-
vesting by embedding or attaching the harvester module with pavement. The
harvested energy can be used for various applications such as traffic signs, lighting,
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement 377

Table 14.3 Performance comparison of supercapacitor and rechargeable battery

[18,37 39].

Supercapacitor Lead-acid battery

Energy efficiency (%) 85 98 85 90
Self-discharge rate (%) 14 2
Energy density (Wh/kg) 5 30
Lifetime (year) 12 5 12

and sensor power source. This saves the use of battery or the connection with power
grid, which brings significant advantage in remote areas. It is noted that a electrical
circuit is needed to collect the generated energy for different applications. The
actual power output from energy harvesters can be lower than from theoretical anal-
ysis due to the power loss with electrical circuits. Therefore, it is very important to
design the electric circuit efficiently to minimize power loss during transmission.
On the other hand, the harvested energy can be stored for future use. Two energy
storage devices (rechargeable battery and supercapacitor) are commonly used with
energy harvesters for energy storage. The supercapacitor is an electric double-layer
capacitor and has superior performance in energy efficiencies, self-discharge rates,
energy densities, and lifetime [37 39].
Sodano et al. [40] were able to recharge a 40 mAh battery through the power
from PZT device in less than 30 min, showing that the battery and the PZT device
were suitably paired. In addition, the rechargeable battery was shown to have greater
beneficial properties when it comes to power harvesting, compared with a traditional
capacitor, particularly when the constant power supply is necessary. In order to eval-
uate the storage of energy produced by the PZT energy harvesting system, NiMH
rechargeable battery was used in the field test. It was found that the battery pack
increased to 2 V in the first day quickly and reached 3.6 V 6 days later [41].
Recently, supercapacitors are proposed for storing energy with superior proper-
ties than rechargeable batteries, including energy efficiency, self-discharge rate,
energy density, and lifetime [37 39]. The comparison of performance between
supercapacitor and rechargeable battery is shown in Table 14.3. In order to produce
the greatest amount of power possible in these random traffic conditions, a diode
rectifier should be involved, which can be linked with PZT units. The loading resis-
tors can be used to change the voltage on the charging supercapacitor, depending
on the application of interest [37,40,41]. For most cases, the majority of circuits
created to gather electrical energy from the piezoelectric generator are primarily
made up of rectifiers, capacitors, and resistors.

14.5.1 Challenges of piezoelectric energy harvesting in

pavement
In piezoelectric energy harvesting, the devices are often designed to allow the har-
vested power to recharge the batteries that are part of the system [42]. However,
378 Eco-efficient Pavement Construction Materials

the energy conversion efficiency of the batteries is usually variable and often quite
low, which means that the efficiency of the entire piezoelectric energy system is
highly dependent on battery technology [43]. As the piezoelectric sensors are
embedded within the layers of the pavement, using rechargeable batteries may not
be a practicable solution as the battery has its lifespan. However, if the electric
energy produced by the system is used as it is generated, then the energy harvesting
system becomes self-sufficient, reducing or even eliminating the dependence on
batteries that have limited storage capacity. Utilizing a self-sustaining model also
means that there is less waste, as all the energy can be used, unlike the battery sys-
tem in which some of the generated energy is wasted. Synchronization of energy
supply to demand can be made possible by adjusting the density of the sensors
underneath the pavement layers to release the appropriate amounts of energy, but in
order for this to be an effective approach, it requires an understanding of the energy
demands in the particular location [44 47].
The service life and durability of piezoelectric transducers need be considered in
roadway applications. There are three factors affecting the service life of piezoelec-
tric transducer: mechanical loading, piezoelectric material fatigue, and electrode
fatigue. Although the disk/rod-shaped PZT has high durability, the total energy that
can be harvested is small. Other types such as cymbal and bridge transducers have
much higher energy output, but they are subject to fatigue failure due to the tensile
stress generated in the PZT material.
With regard to the maintenance of piezoelectric energy harvesting system in
pavements, the repair or replacement of transducers needs to be coordinated with
pavement rehabilitation treatments such as milling and overlay. Otherwise, it will
add cost of pavement construction. Due to the lack of field data, the failure rate of
piezoelectric transducers and the repair and replacement cost data are still very lim-
ited. The life-cycle cost of piezoelectric energy harvesting system needs to be
investigated for any step toward adoption of piezoelectric energy technology in
large scales of roadway network.
The environmental impact of piezoelectric material such as the toxic lead con-
tent associated with lead zirconate titanate that is the material most widely used
by manufacturers needs to be studied [48]. Some studies have suggested a num-
ber of alternatives using lead-free materials that may be biocompatible [48,49].
The use of these alternatives requires further research on their environmental cre-
dentials [50].

14.6 Summary and recommendations

Piezoelectric energy harvesting shows a high potential to generate renewable clean
energy in a distributed manner. The main types of piezoelectric transducer include
cantilever beam, disk/rod shape, bridge, cymbal, and layered PZT composite.
Different types of piezoelectric transducer vary in the mechanical stress generated
in the transducer that affects both the fatigue life and power output of transducer.
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from pavement 379

The section of piezoelectric transducer design should be based on the requirement

of placement method and the demand for the generated energy.
Further research is needed for large-scale applications, in addition to the improve-
ment of material durability and reduction of material costs. It is important to note
that the applicability of piezoelectric energy harvesting may vary depending on the
functional classification of roadway and climate conditions. The major roadway has a
high volume of truck traffic and high design speed, which are beneficial for the
power output. On the other hand, local roads especially can use the harvested energy
for the passive safety device or lighting as the vehicle approaches. This advantage is
more obvious in remote areas where the power grid is not applicable.
It is expected that the piezoelectric energy harvested from pavement may not be
applicable for power grid applications. It is more practical to apply harvested
energy for roadway-related applications that avoid power loss during transmission
at the same time. The major benefit is that the piezoelectric energy harvesting sys-
tem provides a distributed system to generate electricity.
Furthermore, piezoelectric transducers can be used to monitor traffic information
in real time, such as traffic volume, speed, and even axle weight, which are essen-
tial data inputs for traffic management and weight-in-motion system. With the
advancement of electric cars and autonomous vehicle technology, energy harvesting
from roadway turns roadway into distributed energy generator for traffic devices,
monitoring sensors, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. It is possible that the
harvested energy can be used for electric vehicle charging in the future due to its
distributed nature of electricity generation.

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