Have your car generate it's own power (Wind Panel Generator)
Imagine a world where cars can create their own energy simply by harnessing the forces of nature surrounding them. This is achievable by capturing the wind power that is passing over the car as it cuts through the wind. I will do this by creating wind panels (They would resemble hood scoops from the outside) that are built in or bolted on to any electric or hybrid cars. The inside of the wind panels would consist of small turbines that rotate with the power of the wind (the faster you go the more power you generate).Imagine a world where cars can create their own energy simply by harnessing the forces of nature around them. This is achievable by capturing the wind power that is passing over the car as it cuts through the wind. I will do this by creating wind panels (They would resemble hood scoops from the outside) that are built in or bolted on to any hybrid cars. The inside of the wind panels would consist of small turbines that rotate with the power of the wind (the faster you go the more power you generate). These turbines are attached through axles to small A/C generator's that rotate and create a current that will charge the batteries of the hybrid car. So as long as you are moving you are generating your own power. This idea can be adapted to diesel trucks or electric trains that move across country and are constantly cutting through the air at high speeds. This can change the way vehicles are made, how we power them and most importantly the cost to operate them!
Andrew, If you have developed a prototype, I think that you could have a lot of potential for the ASU Innovation Challenge!
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Consider taking this in a completely different direction: the use of electroaerodynamic technology to reduce drag. The drag reduction would not be as dramatic as in aerospace applications, but even an improvement of a few percent would be worth looking at. The electric power requirements are minimal. Application to long-distance trucking might be a good first choice.
See "Northrop Studying Sonic Boom Remedy"; AW&ST, Scott, W. B., 1/22/68, pg 21.; "Experiments Indicate Electric Charge Could Quiet Sonic Boom"; Product Engineering magazine 3/11/68, pgs 35-36; "Electroaerodynamics in Supersonic Flow"; Cahn, Andrew; AIAA 68-24; "Recent Experiments In Supersonic Regime With Electrostatic Charges" Cahn, Andrew, Anderson; AIAA 70-759; " 'Air Spike' Could Ease Flight Problems" , AW&ST, May 15, 1995, pages 66-67; "Black world engineers, scientists, encourage using highly classified technology for civil applications", AW&ST, March 9, 1992, p. 66-67, http://members.nbci.com/082499/aviation/nws001/ai014.htm , http://home.swipnet.se/~w-34966/propuls/propulse.htm ; "Air flow control with electrohydrodynamic actuators", Guillermo Artana, Juan D’Adamo, Gastón Desimone, Guillermo DiPrimio, May 2000, http://laboratorios.fi.uba.ar/lfd/web%20publi/electroaero/Paper2.pdf ; "An Experimental Study Of An Electroaerodynamic Actuator", R. Mestiri1 , R. Hadaji1 and S. Ben Nasrallah1, 2010, http://www.techscience.com/doi/10.3970/fdmp.2010.006.409.pdf ) ; Bluff-Body Wake Control, http://mae.osu.edu/labs/afcad/research/bluff-body-wake-control
See also "Mitigation/Elimination of Sonic Shock Waves", http://scripturalphysics.org/4v4a/ADVPROP.html#MitigationOfSonicShockWaves
:Brian F
Andrew, all of the energy produced by the combustion inside a car engine is used. Some is wasted as heat, some causes turbulence, some rotates the wheels overcoming frictional and aerodynamic forces to propel the vehicle. The further you press the throttle the more power the engine makes: more is wasted and the faster the car goes because a relatively small percentage of that energy accelerates the vehicle.
You are proposing adding additional drag, and converting some of the energy you capture to electrical energy using a device that has nowhere near 100% efficiency. That's the real world. You state it in terms that it somehow captures wasted energy enough to propel the vehicle. Ergo, the energy output exceeds the energy input. So you must create energy from nothing to make up for all of the losses. Without intending to insult you: Take a High School physics class and you'll understand.
I note that you posted the same idea in a different area with a different title ("Drive for Free") and a different diagram. If that title doesn't encapsulate the idea of energy from nothing, I don't know what does. If it were as easy as you think, it would already have been done, even if not practically. Engineers have understood the key mechanical and aerodynamic principles for over 100 years. It is mathematically impossible.
May I ask, have you ever completed a physics course?
Quote: "...small A/C generator's [sic] that rotate and create a current that will charge the batteries." So, first you need to invent A/C batteries, please keep us posted on your progress with that. Oh, maybe you're going to use synchronous rectifiers to efficiently convert to DC, then use a charging circuit to do the charging. I don't see any of that in the diagram.
That is a very valid point. However, the upside of my design is that when Foreign object debris (FOD) does enter the system and cause damage it can be easily repaired. Since there are very few moving parts (Turbines and axle on free floating bearings) they can be swapped out at home in a few hours work. This is not as serious of problem when compared to a jet engine failure which cost millions of dollars to replace and also endangers the life of the passengers on board the aircraft. Foreign objects debris should always be considered but cannot always be avoided. I would say the best thing you can do to protect the costumer from FOD is guarantee the operational life of the wind panel and provide service and repair whenever it is needed.
Thank you all for your input. I will try to answer all your questions and address each concern. It seems that the biggest opposition towards my idea is the concept that the power produced by the wind panels will be negated by the amount of extra fuel required to propel the vehicle forward due to the added wind resistance.
This statement holds apparent truths. However, I totally disagree with the statement as a whole; let me elaborate. Imagine you own a hybrid truck that gets 35 Miles per Gallon, and your truck is capable of towing a boat or trailer full of quads that weighs a couple tons without experiencing a dramatic loss in MPG (maybe 20% decrease). Which is comparable to the trucks of today. Now also take into consideration that you are hauling thousands of extra pounds of cargo as well as adding a massive amount of surface area that increases the drag thus lowering the MPG, not to mention that the trailer is complete dead weight and is generating zero energy to supplement the batteries. My point being is that it is ridiculous to expect to see the same decrease of MPG from adding a wind panel that only weighs a few hundred pounds and only adds a few extra feet of surface area to the vehicle well at the same time generating energy that charges the batteries. Of course a wind panel would affect the aerodynamics of the vehicle and increase the wind resistance an estimated 10-15% (maybe even less). However, that can be compensated for by designing vehicles that are 15% more aerodynamic thus canceling out the loss of fuel that had to be used to compensate for the extra wind resistance; while still retaining the extra amount of electricity being generated by the high speed wind. Making cars more aerodynamic shouldn’t be too difficult since modern cars are essentially a brick being propelled through the air. Compare a Suburban to a Corvette in aerodynamics and you will see what I am referring too. We need to make the cars of the future more streamline like today's performance vehicles ( Corvette, Bugatti, Lamborghini, etc.) while also supplementing the vehicle with as much renewable energy as possible (wind/solar/ electric/ etc.) to decrease and eventually eliminate the need for fossil fuels. That is the ultimate goal, and engineering a wind panel that successfully generates more energy than it consumes is a big step towards the realization of that goal. I believe the power generated will be enough to supplement the batteries and reduce the amount of time the internal combustion engine will operate thus increasing the overall MPG. There is no way to be certain how much power can be generated by the wind panels until efficient prototypes are built and hard numbers begin to emerge that can calculate the overall output verse input power. However, I remain optimistic about the final result; and I feel that my idea is an innovative solution to harness and recycle the energy that is already being created but being wasted while driving.
In response to Bill: No, I am not creating energy from nothing. That would be impossible. Let me thoroughly explain where the energy is being created. I am transforming wind power into mechanical force in the form of the wind spinning the turbine; then I am using the mechanical force of the spinning turbine to spin an A/C generator transforming the mechanical force into electrical energy. As you can see I am definitely not creating energy from nothing.
In response to Please A: Rain, hail, and snow will have no effect on the electrical components of the wind panel; just how present day cars can drive in snow, rain, and hail; that is because all the electrical components are completely insulated and waterproofed. However, rain and snow may hinder the performance slightly but will have no long lasting effects.
In response to Enuf I: I hope the first part of my response answered your initial question. As for the second question of getting the power back onto the grid my design did not call for that. However, I can think of way to achieve that purpose if needed. I would engineer a machine resembling a DYNO. A machine that tests your cars horsepower by placing your tires that have traction on two large rollers and then lock in the front tires so they don’t move. The next step would be simply to push the accelerator on the vehicle and make the massive rollers move until the batteries are entirely drained. These rotating rollers will be geared and attached to A/C generators that create current that then flows to transformers and then back into the grid. I think that would be an efficient way to get the power back into the grid.
In response to Tom: The hybrid car is initially powered by a gasoline engine running around 25% efficiency. This brings you to speed at which point the gas engine turns off and the electric engine turns on running at around 50% efficiency at the same time the turbines are also working at about 40% efficiency thus harnessing 40% of the wind power. That power is then being recycled back into the batteries; instead of being wasted it is increasing the amount of time the electric motor can operate which increases the overall mpg by reducing the amount of time the internal combustion engine will operate. As for your description of the wind panel being nothing more than a gas engine that power’s a fan that turns turbines. That is not an accurate description; a more accurate description would be a gas engine that works primarily as a generator which charges batteries that then powers an electric motor connected to a fan. The wind from the fan will then be harnessed through spinning turbines that rotate A/C generators that supplement power back into the batteries increasing the amount of operation time for the electric motor. That is better description of the function of a wind panel.
In response to Darrel: No, this is not a perpetual motion machine. Look up the definition of perpetual motion. When you do that you will realize this is not a perpetual motion since it requires the force of the wind to power the device.
P.S.
I am currently in the process of building a prototype. However, I am running into issues when it comes to obtaining the proper materials. If someone could help me to find a place to purchase small A/C generators as well as small gears that could be attached to the axle and then connected to the generator I would greatly appreciate your help. Also if anyone is interested in applying for the research and development team for this project feel free to let me know and we will schedule an interview to inquire upon your qualifications.
Andrew: I applaud your imagination, and I would like to point out that Ram Air Turbines or RATs have been used on aircraft to provide emergency power to vital systems (like electrical and hydraulic) during engine out emergencies for decades (a similar concept to your solution).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_air_turbine
However… These systems are only used in emergencies due to the fact that the drag penalty added outweighs the power generated. I fear that your system would suffer the same drawback. Any wind turbine or free wheeling airfoil based rotor, acts like a parachute even when it isn’t under load (such as would need to happen to spin a power generator). This parachute effect is so pronounced that helicopters can use their rotor blades as a giant parachute to land safely after engine loss. This is known as “autorotation”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorotation
For power generation wind turbines, the drag created by the turbines themselves isn’t a problem because they are anchored to the earth with heavy duty pylons. However, attaching a large enough turbine to a vehicle that is capable of adding any measurable amount of power, would be like having a huge parachute attached to the back of your car. The effects of induced drag combined with the power losses of the turbine and generator (each operate at about 80% efficiency), would more than likely result in a net loss of power.
A different approach to this problem might be to install vertical turbines on a freeway median that utilize the opposing wakes from moving vehicles to generate electricity for the power grid. Again the problem with this idea could be that a greater wind resistance might be imparted on the moving vehicles, resulting in MPG loss for those vehicles. But I’m not entirely sure on this. You would have to consult an aerospace engineer to be sure…
Nice perpetual motion machine. Too bad it is impossible.
The increased drag created by the scoops and the resistance created by the turbines would require greater energy usage than would be generated.
Energy can not be created more distroyed. The elements you describe would cause friction, which causes heat. Therefore, additional energy would need to be put into the system to account for that energy loss.
I see one problem here that you really need to explain: You are creating the energy for your wind turbine (the wind) by using a gasoline engine to propel the car to high speeds. A gasoline engine has roughly 25% efficiency. Therefore, the amount of energy used to get the car up to speed and create the wind (energy in) is MUCH greater than the amount of energy that can be extracted by the wind turbine. Betz limit states that only 59% of the wind's energy can be extracted. So you have a 25% efficiency times a 59% efficiency, making it impossible to extract more energy out than energy in. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is essentially the same as using a gasoline engine to power a fan to create wind for a wind turbine.
I've discussed this idea with friends over the years, going back to around 1970 or so. Not just me certainly, many have had the same thought from time to time, trying to use the air flow of moving vehicles to generate electricity.
The problems are always the same:
1. The increased fuel use caused by having to overcome increased wind drag negates the energy produced.
2. How do you get the power off and into a grid?
3. If you do not transfer power off-vehicle to a grid, it must be stored in batteries. Batteries are heavy and bulky. Even the most modern batteries in quantity weigh something and take up some space. This added mass requires fuel to move it and keep it in motion, further impacting fuel efficiency.
I am not against the idea or any idea experimentally. If you can make it energy efficient, that would be wonderful.
There is the analysis problem that you need to delve deeply into . Calculating the energy inputs and outputs, effects of drag and rolling friction. Each change in the system requiring new calculations.
Not to be a brain drain, but what about the elements. Snow, hail, rain, extreem weather conditions. I have this same issue with some of our electrical co-generation today. Then you have the substainability factor. If one system fails, how does it effect the relibility of the others. But overall its a sound idea.
Comment below to provide feedback on this solution. If you’re inspired by it and would like to take it in a new direction, you can build on this solution.