Feasibility of total system for ground protection – power generation - construction waste material reusing

Abstract

In order to maintain the current standard of living without deteriorating the global environment, it is necessary to develop and spread the effective power generation methods using clean energy. Rational ground reinforcement is necessary to minimize the ground damage caused by frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes. It is important to actively reuse the construction waste material for reducing the economic cost of civil works. In this study, one of the useful tools for constructing and maintaining a recycling-oriented society is considered. First, a concept of the total system to perform both ground reinforcement and electric power generation using the recycled asphalt pavement material and newly prepared T-shaped unit is proposed. The T-shaped unit that is referred as a PG unit in this study mounts the electric circuit with Peltier device. A series of the field monitoring for electric power generation and the laboratory test for the mechanical properties of protected ground are conducted for discussing the feasibility of the proposed total system. The results of the field monitoring show that the newly prepared PG unit can generate the electric power by using the temperature on the ground surface. In the laboratory test, it is also confirmed that the bearing capacity of the ground can be improved by using recycled asphalt pavement material and PG unit waste. The both results of field monitoring and laboratory test imply that the proposed total system can be realized.