Procedure

Published August 5, 2023

PIEZO-street

A smart street system which uses Piezoelectric cells to generate power.

IntermediateFull instructions provided440

Things used in this project

Hardware components

ControlEverything.com Piezo Sensor

Arduino UNO

Ultrasonic Sensor - HC-SR04 (Generic)

5 mm LED: Red

LDR, 5 Mohm

Resistor 10k ohm

Seeed Studio Grove - Gas Sensor(MQ2)

MQ135/ MQ138 sensor can be used as well.

Jumper wires (generic)

Normal wires will be needed for pizo connection, female wires will be needed for connecting some sensor modules with arduino.

Capacitor 220 µF

Rotary potentiometer (generic)

Li-Ion Battery 1000mAh

Adafruit RGB Backlight LCD - 16x2

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Story

Electricity generation through the piezoelectric effect has gained significant attention due to its potential to harness energy from ambient vibrations and mechanical movements. The piezoelectric effect refers to the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical stress or deformation.

1.Introduction

This Piezo-Street System utilizes piezoelectric cells installed on the road surface to generate electrical power from vehicular movement. The generated power is used to charge an Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino controls street lighting using LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) sensors to turn on LED lights during the night. Additionally, the system incorporates an ultrasonic sensor to monitor vehicle traffic and an MQ-135 sensor to detect gas levels in the air.

2. System Overview

The main components of the Smart Street System include:

Piezoelectric Cells: Thirty piezoelectric cells are embedded in the road surface in three sets of ten cells each. Each set of ten cells is connected in series, and all three sets are then connected in parallel to maximize power generation.
Arduino Microcontroller: The generated power from the piezoelectric cells charges the LI-ion battery which powers Arduino. The Arduino serves as the control unit for the entire system.
LDR Sensors: Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) sensors are used to detect ambient light levels. During nighttime (when light level is low), the Arduino uses LDR data to activate streetlights (LEDs).
Ultrasonic Sensor: An ultrasonic sensor is deployed to measure the number of vehicles passing on the road. This data helps in monitoring traffic flow.
MQ-135 Gas Sensor: The MQ-135 sensor is employed to detect harmful gases in the air, contributing to air quality monitoring.

3. Power Generation

The primary energy source for the Smart Street System is the piezoelectric cells. When vehicles pass over the cells, the mechanical stress generates electrical energy. The thirty piezoelectric cells are grouped into three sets of ten. Each set of ten cells is connected in series to increase voltage output, and all three sets are connected in parallel to maintain the overall current capacity.

The generated power is rectified and regulated before being used to charge the Arduino microcontroller. A battery backup system is also included to ensure continuous operation during periods of low traffic or at night when power generation is minimal.

Procedure-

Step-1

Starting with piezo cells, 2 wires were soldiered like shown-

we did same to all 30 piezo cells, connected 10 cells in series forming set of 3, and then connected the 3 sets in parallel.

Now, The output of these cell had to be connected to a rectifier as Piezo produces AC, and to charge our battery we needed DC. So, we made our own rectifier using diodes and capacitor.

Step-2

Next, To make our street, we used a card-board as it comes handy. Then, we Placed and Route the piezo cells on the cardboard and made street lamps using LED's. Connections were made for the Ultrasonic-sensor, LDR and MQ 135 sensor, and they were mounted on the LED lamps for data reading.

Step-3

LCD was connected as shown, Final data of sensors will be displayed here.

Step-4

After placing and Routing it was time for ARDUINO coding, firstly we tested the sensitivity of the sensors and adjusted that accordingly. The Arduino code for the circuit is provided in the code section.

Step-5

After some final touches, this was the OUTPUT-

We used a glass sheet to cover the piezo cells, on pressing the glass sheet, the piezo was producing current which was charging the capacitor, and battery.

Arduino was doing it's work smoothly, on switching the room light OFF the LED lamps were automatically turning ON, number of passing vehicles and air quality was displayed on the LCD.

Code

Arduino code for Smart Piezo-street

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
const int trigPin = 9;
const int echoPin = 10;
int digpin= 8;
unsigned int count = 0;
int airpin= A0;
int anapin= A1;
int sensorValue;
int digitalValue;
int airsensorValue;
const int rs = 12, en = 11, d4 = 5, d5 = 4, d6 = 3, d7 = 2;
LiquidCrystal lcd(rs, en, d4, d5, d6, d7);
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(airpin, INPUT);
pinMode(anapin, INPUT);
pinMode(digpin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
lcd.begin(16, 2);
lcd.print("MQ135 Sensor");
delay(2000);
lcd.clear();
}
void loop()
{
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
unsigned long pulseDuration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
float distance = pulseDuration / 2.0 * 0.0343;
sensorValue = analogRead(anapin);
if(sensorValue<200){
digitalWrite(digpin,HIGH);
}
else{
digitalWrite(digpin,LOW);
}
Serial.println(sensorValue);
if (distance > 5 && distance < 20) {
count++;
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Object detected. Count: ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(count);
delay(1000);
lcd.clear();
}
airsensorValue = analogRead(airpin);
lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
lcd.print("Pollution level- ");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(airsensorValue);
delay(1000);
lcd.clear();
}