Design simulation of a novel fluid based footstep energy harvesting system

With the ever-increasing demand for energy and a growing concern for the non-renewability of the energy sources as well as the environmental pollution, renewable energy harvesting systems have emerged as one of the energy technologies globally. In this context, this research work addresses a novel, clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy generation technology that harvests energy from human locomotion, like walking and running. The developed system is based on two square sized tiles structure paver in which two fluid bags are connected through flow control mechanisms including unidirectional valves and mini hydro generators that convert the human kinetic energy into electricity via fluid movements. All the design related simulations were performed in ANSYS software to find out the optimal parameters like fluid velocity, power output and fluid bag shape etc. Sequentially, it was experimentally observed that the energy harvesting paver can produce an average output power of 1.4 W per step during typical human walking and can power up a DC load of 390 Omega LED. The system is easily reproducible and can be installed with relative ease to power up street lamps, billboards and emergency lighting systems etc. Furthermore, the system is eco-friendly and cost-effective in comparison to other available energy harvesting paver systems. Hence, this novel fluid based footstep energy harvesting paver has considerable prospects as an effective renewable energy system.