Paper Title
Energy Harvesting by Piezoelectric Material for Automobiles Applications

Abstract
This paper aims to seek the current status of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology in running vehicles and its life cycle assessment and to assess the piezoelectric value to be considered as a future reliable energy source for vehicles applications which rely on results from prototype demonstrations. Piezoelectric materials can transfer mechanical energy into electrical energy. This kind of energy can be stored and used for other devices and applications. In this case, piezoelectric materials have the potential to provide reliable and cost-effective replacement of energy sources. Thus, it can ultimately have potential to replace the battery and reduce user costs. In this paperan evaluation of the future potential of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology in cars and their environmental impacts is performed.The use of piezoelectric materials in tires enables capturing waste energy of cars because of deformations in the tire and weight of the vehicle as well. In the experimental phase a set-up was designed to simulate movement and pressure inside the contact patch of a given car. Inside of the model tire, piezoelectric elements were used to harness energy. The Experimental results were compared to a research found in the literature. Comparison showed that this method harvests more energy. Based on the experimental results, this method produced 148 w for 142 piezo elements comparable to 2.3 w for 160 piezo elements found in the literature.Environmental impacts of these kinds of resources of renewable energy were considered through a life cycle assessment study. The results showed that further evaluation of technology is required to measure the durability and lifetime of piezoelectric materials. Anyway, to have cleaner and more sustainable forms of energy, it is required to keep costs lower and insure a healthier environment for the next generation. Also the results showed that the resulted energy can be used in some vehicles applications like AC units, lighting and other warning systems or as a spare electrical energy sources. Keywords -Automobiles Applications, Piezo-Materials, Piezo-Elements, Energy.