As part of my senior design project, I worked with a team to develop a self-powered de-icing pavement system for bridges. Bridges freeze faster than regular roads, creating hazardous driving conditions. Current de-icing methods (like salt or chemicals) damage concrete and harm the environment, while heated pavements require costly grid power.

Our solution used piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs) to capture vibrations from traffic and convert them into electricity. That energy powered an embedded nichrome wire heating system in a concrete test slab, designed to melt snow and ice without external power.

The Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesting (PVEH) assembly is the core of the system’s energy harvesting. It converts the constant vibrations of traffic on bridges into small amounts of electrical energy. By tuning the harvester beams with added masses and magnets, we optimized them to resonate at typical bridge vibration frequencies (5–30 Hz). This step was crucial because without capturing mechanical energy efficiently, the system could not be self-sustaining.

The heating subsystem demonstrates how the stored energy can be applied to prevent ice accumulation. We embedded nichrome wire beneath the concrete surface, where it generated heat through electrical resistance. This design was chosen for its durability, simplicity, and ability to direct heat upward into the slab. Testing confirmed that the wire could raise the concrete’s temperature, showing the feasibility of scaling this concept into a bridge deck system that actively resists icing without relying on road salt or external power.