摘要 |
An expansion joint system incorporating means for harvesting kinetic energy and generating electrical energy from the kinetic energy is provided. The incorporation of an energy harvesting and generating means within the expansion joint system actively improves the health, safety, and performance of the system. The electrical energy generator captures a portion of the kinetic energy delivered to the expansion joint via vehicular impacts and converts that kinetic energy to electrical energy for use in a variety of structural health, safety, and performance functions. Various embodiments including an electrical junction box, a cathodic protection system, dampers, and/or data acquisitions systems integrated with the electrical energy generator are also provided. The system generates increases in the overall structural health and reliability indices through the application of the integrated expansion joint electrical energy generator.
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