Electro Kinetic Road

Abstract

“Electro Kinetic Road” is a topic which involves both civil and circuital engineering discipline. It’s latest innovation which will really going to impact future in dealing problem related to energy problem.

Introduction

As we all notice the number of vehicles on roads how they are increasing day by day? They also require a lot of energy to run either in any forms of sources. We always try to look some sustainable development so here’s a new technology in civil engineering of electro-kinetic pavement design of roads. Just think when roads will start returning the kinetic energy what it gets from the vehicle on its pavement. The pavement is designed in such manner that it has some electric storing elements like piezoelectric and transducer in pavement

Working

When vehicle passes through roads, they apply stress on the pavement generally the heavy trucks apply heavy stress value. Mechanical energy exerted by traffic, especially heavy trucks, can be converted into electricity in several ways. The mechanical stress from traffic can be captured by piezoelectric material, or causes relative movement in electromagnetic generator. Also, significant solar energy absorbed by pavement can be harvested using photovoltaic cells, heat flux, or thermoelectric material. Even geothermal energy can be collected with a heat pump and underground thermal energy storage. As research done by Dr. Hao Wang (Rutgers, Civil and Environmental Engineering) and his collaborator, Dr. Ahmed Safari (Rutgers, Materials Science and Engineering) has published many papers related to that.

Have you ever wondered that when a car passes a road breaker most of kinetic energy is wasted as heat in it .By conserving this kinetic energy and generating electricity, we can supply this energy to the urban and remote areas for lightning purposes.

Another technology apart from above mentioned is Road Power Generation (RPG) which is designed to capture waste and kinetic energy from all devices. This device converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electric energy. This is done by pressure plates installed on the ramp. These ramps are connected to shaft which again rotate turbine kind of thing.

Advantages

  • By using this technology, we can reduce scarcity of electricity to some extent.
  • We always talk about green energy and this is one of them which is making waste as useful.
  • Smart Roads are going to be future roads.

Current disadvantages

  • Since this is a new technology and expensive so it’s little uneconomical to install specially for developing and undeveloped nation
  • These things and technology are to set up under the pavement, so already built road you have to scrap, set and then built again so it sounds uneconomical.

Conclusion

Digital wave is everywhere. World has been taken over by digital wave. ‘Smart roads’ or ‘Smart highways’ are the road to the future so its really a good innovation in the field of energy saving. In up coming days it will progress rapidly, even some nation already and still many researches going on. It will sort out energy problem to certain extent.

Recourses