Harvesting the Sun to Charge Concrete: MPPT-Based Power Management for Structural Batteries
This paper presents the design and implementation of a photovoltaic energy harvesting system aimed at charging cement-based structural batteries, with the goal of enabling energy-autonomous infrastructures. The proposed architecture employs a tailored DC/DC power converter optimized for low-power, h...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | conjunto de datos |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI) |
| Repositorio: | RUO. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Oviedo |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digibuo.uniovi.es:10651/81542 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/10651/81542 https://dx.doi.org/10.17811/ruo_datasets.81542 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Concrete batteries structural energy storage DC-DC power converter digital control MPPT |
| Resumo: | This paper presents the design and implementation of a photovoltaic energy harvesting system aimed at charging cement-based structural batteries, with the goal of enabling energy-autonomous infrastructures. The proposed architecture employs a tailored DC/DC power converter optimized for low-power, high-impedance energy storage devices embedded in concrete. The converter integrates Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms to maximize energy extraction from the solar source. However, due to the unconventional electrochemical characteristics of cement-based batteries—namely, high and variable internal resistance, low charge acceptance, and pronounced self-discharge—standard MPPT operation may lead to overstress or inefficient charging. To address this, the control scheme dynamically limits MPPT operation based on real-time monitoring of the voltage across the terminals and the charge current, thus ensuring safe and adaptive energy transfer. The batteries used in the storage system are based on conductive concrete with iron chips and nickel galvanized steel electrodes. The monitoring of the battery status and the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is based on a dsPIC33EV256GM102 low-cost microcontroller. Additionally, a monitoring system for operating conditions and processed energy is integrated, with data displayed using an ESP32 SoC circuit and a mobile application. The system demonstrates stable and effective power delivery under variable irradiance conditions, confirming its suitability for long-term deployment in smart civil infrastructure © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
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