ABSTRACT
Many modern bridges are able to sense their state in operational and emergency conditions through embedded sensors that constantly monitor structural damage conditions. However, the large amount of energy (supplied by the power grid or batteries) and wiring to operate the thousands of sensors required represents a concerning issue, entailing both a significant environmental impact (battery disposal) and disproportionate installation and maintenance costs (due to wiring and manual intervention). Energy Harvesting (EH) from induced vibrations has received emphasis allowing the development of efficient and reliable devices that convert into electrical energy the sensed perturbations occurred and piezoelectric materials have special attention given their natural capacity of converting mechanical into electrical energy. With the aim of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), here is presented a device named PiD (piezoelectric damper) which, designed as an elastomeric bridge’s bearing in which a piezoelectric fin is inserted, can harvest energy from induced vibrations.
