Roadway Embedded Smart Illumination Charging System for Electric Vehicles
Daniel Fernandez,
Ann Sebastian,
Patience Raby,
Moneeb Genedy,
Ethan C. Ahn,
Mahmoud M. Reda Taha,
Samer Dessouky,
Sara Ahmed
Affiliations
Daniel Fernandez
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Ann Sebastian
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Patience Raby
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Moneeb Genedy
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Ethan C. Ahn
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Mahmoud M. Reda Taha
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Samer Dessouky
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Management, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Sara Ahmed
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Inspired by the fact that there is an immense amount of renewable energy sources available on the roadways, such as mechanical pressure, this study presents the development and implementation of an innovative charging technique for electric vehicles (EVs) by fully utilizing the existing roadways and state-of-the-art nanotechnology and power electronics. The developed Smart Illuminative Charging is a novel wireless charging system that uses LEDs powered by piezoelectric materials as the energy transmitter source and thin film solar panels placed at the bottom of the EVs as the receiver, which is then poised to deliver the harvested energy to the vehicle’s battery. The piezoelectric materials were tested for their mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion capabilities and the relatively large-area EH2N samples (2 cm × 2 cm) produced high output voltages of up to 52 mV upon mechanical pressure. Furthermore, a lab-scale prototype device was developed to testify the proposed mechanism of illuminative charging (i.e., “light” coupled pavement and vehicle as a wireless energy transfer medium).
