Exploring harnessing wind power in moving reference frames with application to vehicles

Abstract

The possibility of extracting wind power from unique configurations embedded in moving vehicles using microturbine devices has been investigated. In such environments with moving frames or platforms, powered either by humans like bicycles or by chemical reactions like automobiles, the specific power of the air motion is much greater and less intermittent than in stationary wind turbines anchored to the ground in open atmospheric conditions. In a translational frame of reference, the rate of work done by the drag force acting on the wind harnessing device due to the relative motion of air should be taken into account in the overall performance evaluation through an energy balance. A device with a venting tube has been tested that connects a high-pressure stagnating flow region in the front of the vehicle with a low-pressure region at its rear. Our analysis identified two key areas to focus on for potentially significant rewards: (1) vehicles with high energy conversion efficiency, which require a high mass flow rate through the venting duct, and (2) vehicles with low energy conversion efficiency with wakes, which will be globally affected by the introduction of the venting duct device in a manner that reduces their drag so that there is a net gain in power generation.

A Systematic Review of Technologies, Control Methods, and Optimization for Extended-Range Electric Vehicles

“…In that case, the energy can produce electricity to charge up the EV battery itself. [66,70,71] presented a conceptual design of harnessing wind's power to generate extra energy. Those designs can provide energy which could be stored or directly used to power electronic devices and vehicle instrumentation in a car or truck in movement.…”

Mechanical energy harvesting in traffic environment and its application in smart transportation

“…Nurmanova et al [122] proposed to install a wind power generation system on the roof of train, the power of the wind is converted into mechanical energy of the blades, which in turn rotate shaft of the turbine. Goushcha et al [123] installed a wind turbine in vehicle ventilation ducts to generate electricity. Using wind tunnel experiments, they tested a device with an exhaust pipe that connects a high-voltage stagnant area at the front of the vehicle to a low-pressure area at the rear, which would help reduce the air resistance of the moving vehicle and also harvesting wind energy.…”

“…Nurmanova et al [122] Roof of vehicle Electromagnetic wind turbine 285 W A feasible study of wind energy harvesting on train Goushcha et al [123] Pipe of vehicle Electromagnetic wind turbine -Vehicle aerodynamic optimization and power generation…”

Energy, exergy, economic, environmental (4E) and frequency distribution analysis of train wind gust with real-time data for energy harvesting

“…Oleg Goushcha demonstrated wind power in moving reference frames with application to vehicles. His work studied the velocity acceleration inside the moving car tunnel from 11 m s −1 to 18 m s −1 with a power output of 41 W with 0.413Cp (Goushcha et al 2019). This method has a drawback of increasing drag coefficient.…”