Utilizing Energy Harvesting Systems Embedded in Asphalt Pavement to Mitigate Effects of Urban Heat Islands

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dc.contributor.advisorMontoya, Arturo
dc.contributor.authorLegette, Sarah
dc.contributor.committeeMemberDessouky, Samer
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCastillo, Krystel
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-12T14:53:28Z
dc.date.available2021-08-16
dc.date.available2024-02-12T14:53:28Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.descriptionThis item is available only to currently enrolled UTSA students, faculty or staff. To download, navigate to Log In in the top right-hand corner of this screen, then select Log in with my UTSA ID.
dc.description.abstractAs more people are beginning to move into urban areas, the effects of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) are becoming more prominent. In an effort to mitigate some of the effects of UHI, this thesis aims to support the design of a thermoelectric energy harvesting device that decreases the surface temperature of asphalt pavement while also directing heat flow into the device for energy conversion. The thermoelectric prototype utilizes a copper plate embedded into the pavement to retain the heat transferred from solar radiation, guiding it into a thermoelectric generator (TEG) where it converts the temperature gradient into electric energy. The goal of this research is to observe the impact that geometry and depth of embedded copper have on surface temperature and rate of heat flow out of the pavement. To predict the changes that these modifications have on the heat distribution in the pavement, a section of pavement layers was modeled using ABAQUS, a finite element analysis software. Several iterations of the simulation were run using variations of a copper mesh and a copper plate as the embedded geometries. The nodal temperatures for the top asphalt layer were recorded at each time increment throughout the day and used to analyze the changes to the surface temperature and the accumulated heat within the system at a given time. From the information gathered from ABAQUS simulations, it was concluded that the embedded copper objects have the potential to encourage heat flow from solar radiation into the energy harvesting device. The results showed slight decreases in the surface temperature of the pavement region directly above the embedded objects and an overall decreases in the amount of heat accumulated in the asphalt layer. Additionally, a concluding proposal for future work outlines areas for optimization that have the potential to greater impact the mitigation of UHI and increase the efficiency of the thermoelectric energy harvesting device.
dc.description.departmentMechanical Engineering
dc.format.extent75 pages
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.isbn9781085731201
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/4377
dc.languageen
dc.subjectEmbedded Pavement Systems
dc.subjectEnergy Harvesting
dc.subjectFinite Element Analysis
dc.subjectUrban Heat Islands
dc.subject.classificationMechanical engineering
dc.subject.classificationCivil engineering
dc.titleUtilizing Energy Harvesting Systems Embedded in Asphalt Pavement to Mitigate Effects of Urban Heat Islands
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.dcmiText
dcterms.accessRightspq_closed
thesis.degree.departmentMechanical Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at San Antonio
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

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