Energy Production Using Speed Bumps

GREEN SPEED BUMPS

Presented By: Bilal EL-SAYED ALI Khaled GHANAWI

3481 3274

Supervised By: Dr. Mohammad AKKAWI 2012/2013

 Abstract   Humans in every activity requires energy. The most frequently used energy is electric energy. In this case, one tool that can be used  as an energy harvester is a speed bump because at each vehicle speed bump across the kinetic and potential energy stored is large enough. Besides speed bump is also used in various places as a sign that we have entered a specific area such as malls / super  market or shopping centers. The method used in bump speed as a means of exploiting the energy harvester is to change the translational motion of the speed  bump because the load and speed of traffic at  a rotational motion. By using electromagnetic  principles, rotational motion can be converted to electrical energy generation. In this report we will study a power generating system speed bump on the mechanism of  energy harvesters.

P a g e 1 | 11

1. INTRODUCTION: Harnessing and utilizing energy has always been a key factor in improving the quality of life. Therefore, many professors and inventors passes lot of their times trying to invent and implement new kinds of power plants that uses different kind of  alternators such as: Turbo alternators, Hydraulic alternators… The first rise of technology in this domain was concerning the kind of power plants known nowadays as “The Conventional Power Plants” such as power plants that produce energy from: Steam turbines, hydraulic power plants, gas turbine power plants, combined cycle power plants and nuclear power plants. These power plants can have very big capacities but what about the pollution caused by these power plants??!!

The second rise of technology began when people focus their experiences on the renewable energy such as: Wind, Solar and Solid Waste energy production. Therefore, this kind is green and causes no pollution but what about the capacity that can produce when there is no elevated wind flow or when the sky is cloudy and there is no more big number of solar rays to capture ??!!

Today, lots of engineers are focusing to find a green way to produce electricity from wasted energies. The best method is “Using Green Bumps“. P a g e 2 | 11

2. GREEN SPEED BUMPS TECHNOLOGY: 2.1- Definition: The very simple definition of this technology is: “A car passing over the speed bump pushes down embedded actuators connected to a generator to produce electricity”. The green speed bump captures kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost and turns it into electricity that host businesses could use to offset their operating costs. It could also power road signs and streetlights or be used for emergency and backup power. 2.2- How to make energy from speed bumps?? When a vehicle crosses a conventional speed bump, a potential energy is generated. When using green speed bumps, this potential energy will not be wasted, rather it will be converted into kinetic energy using a special mechanism. Never mind what the mechanism is, the kinetic energy will result in rotating a shaft that is connected to the rotor of an alternator (dynamo) that converts the kinetic energy into electricity. The rotor which rotates within a static magnetic stator cuts the magnetic flux surrounding it, thus producing the electric motive force (emf). This generated emf is then sent to an inverter, where the generated emf is regulated. This regulated emf is now sent to the storage battery where it is stored during the day time. This current is then utilized in the night time for lighting purposes on the either sides of the road to a considerable distance. The electrical energy generated can be stored in a power unit or connected directly to the grid.

2.3- Mechanisms of operation: As we said above, the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy needs a special mechanism. In green speed bumps technology and devices, the commonly used mechanisms are:

2.3.a- Roller Mechanism:

When the roller is rotated, its movement causes the shaft of the generator to rotate by the help of the chained gears with a speed proportional to the

P a g e 3 | 11

gear ratio 1:5 (faster rotation). As the shaft of the generator turns, the alternator will produce electricity between its two terminals. In green speed bumps, the roller will be in the middle of the bump as shown in the figure below and therefore when a car crosses the bump, it makes the roller rotates. But the roller mechanism has some disadvantages: 

Maintenance will be very difficult



Might cause collision.

Speed Bump

Roller

2.3.b- Rack-Pinions Mechanism:

Whenever the vehicle is allowed to pass over the bump it gets pressed downwards then the springs attached to the bump are compressed and the rack which is attached to the bottom of the bump moves downward in linear motion. Since the rack has teeth connected to gears, there exists a conversion of the linear motion into a rotary motion of gears but the two P a g e 4 | 11

gears rotate in opposite directions. So that the shafts will rotate with certain R.P.M. and these shafts are connected through a belt drive to the generators which convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Speed Bump

Springs

Pinions Generator

+

+

Belt Drive

Generator’s Shaft

Rack

N.B: The two pinions rotate in opposite directions to harvest the energy in the two ways of movement of the rack (Upward and Backward). N.B: We can also improve the speed of rotation in order to improve the generated output using more this complicated rack-pinion mechanism, with small and large sprockets.

The electrical output can be improved by arranging many speed bumps in series. And the generated power can be amplified and stored by using different electrical devices. P a g e 5 | 11

The Rack-Pinion assembly gives good mounting convenience, its Maximum gear losses is about 3 to 5% and its efficiency is about 95%.

Block diagram: SPEED BREAKER

RACK-PINIONS & CHAINS

GEAR

ARRANGEMENT

SPROCKET ARRANGEMENT

DRIVES

GENERATOR

INVERTER

BATTERY

STREET LIGHTS

2.3.c- Crank-Shaft Mechanism:

Whenever the vehicle going on the speed bump, the speed bump goes downwards. So the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. Here, we used crank shaft mechanism for the development of the small amount of electricity. The generated electricity is saved in battery storage units and the crack shaft regains its previous position…

2.4- Experimental investigations: The experimental investigation is performed by studying the speed breaker arrangement with constant load and constant speed. Vehicles move over the speed breaker arrangement and the voltage generated is measured by a multimeter and the various readings are plotted in a graph. The graphs are drawn for various parameters as shown in the samples below: a. Voltage generated (V S) / speed of vehicle . b. Voltage generated (V S) / Load. 2.4.a- Voltage generated VS / Speed of vehicle:

Whenever the vehicle going on the speed bump, the speed bump goes downwards. So the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. Here, P a g e 6 | 11

we used crank shaft mechanism for the development of the small amount of electricity. The generated electricity is saved in battery storage units and the crack shaft regains its previous position… VS in function of the speed of vehicle For a fixed load 270 Kg 9

Speed of vehicle (Km/H)

Voltage generated (V)

10

7.93

20

6.28

3

30

5.03

2

40

4.66

50

3.03

8 7 6 5 4

1 0 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2.4.b- Voltage generated VS / Load:

For a constant speed = 10 Km/H, we obtained: VS in function of the mass of vehicle For a constant speed 10 Km/H 14 12

Load (Kg)

Voltage generated (V)

10

60

8.33

8

130

9.45

6

170

10.22

4

200

11.23

2

270

11.81

0 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

P a g e 7 | 11

3. MotionPower  – KINETIC ENERGY HARVESTER: 3.1- Definition: New Energy Technologies, Inc. is developing novel MotionPower™ technologies which harness excess vehicle energy (‘kinetic’ or ‘rolling’ energy) and convert it to sustainable electricity. These roadway-based energy harvesting systems are an alternative energy technology which captures kinetic energy of decelerating cars and trucks and creatively converts this captured energy to usable electricity. 3.2- BURGER KING tests MotionPower: Transforming kinetic energy into electricity doesn't often get taken seriously, but at least one Burger King joint has been hooked on to the idea. The New Jersey based outlet is set to give the first road test to MotionPower strips produced by New Energy, which harness energy from vehicles passing over them. Based on the thinking behind regenerative braking in hybrids, the energy absorbers are made up of small plates moving up and down. The ramps - which cost between £20,000 and £55,000, depending on size - consist of a series of  panels set in a pad virtually flush to the road. As the traffic passes over it, the panels go up and down, setting a cog in motion under the road. This then turns a motor, which produces mechanical energy. A steady stream of traffic passing over the bump can generate 10-36kW of power. The bumps can each produce between £1 and £3.60 of energy an hour for up to 16 hours a day, or between £5,840 and £21,024 a year. Energy not used immediately can be stored or fed into the national grid. The designer of these speed bumps said: “ With a steady flow of traffic, four of  the ramps used as speed bumps would be enough to power all the drive thru area lights, road signs and part of the kitchen. The ramp is silent, comfortable and safe for vehicles. It is not only green energy; it is free energy ”. He claims also that 10 ramps could generate the same power as one wind turbine. P a g e 8 | 11

4. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF GREEN SPEED BUMPS: As all other power plants techniques, green speed bumps technology has its advantages and disadvantages.

4.1- Advantages: The advantages of green speed bumps usage in power generation domain can be summarized by the following:  Low budget electricity production.  Less surface required.  Easy maintenance.  Suitable for parkings.  Used to power the street lighting.  Pollution free power generation.  No manual work necessary during generation.  Energy available all year round.  No fuel transportation problem. 4.2- Disadvantages: With all these advantages, this technique of power production has some inconvenients such as:  Selecting suitable generator.  Selection of springs.  Achieving proper balance of speed and torque.  Low electric output.  We have to check mechanism from time to time.  It can get rusted in rainy season.

P a g e 9 | 11

5. CONCLUSION & PERSPECTIVES: After all what we have said about green speed bumps, and by looking to the following 2 diagrams:  Flow of traffic in Beirut area in function of day time  Cost of producing energy using speed bumps

For sure we will note the high traffic (around 800 cars) at the morning and also between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM so we can produce big power capacity if we install a certain number of speed bumps (Ex: MotionPower Devices) in the city of Beirut. By this way, we can power up all street lights in the area without cost, only the cost applied will be that for installation of those green speed bumps.

Cost of KW (USD) Speed Bumps

750

Cost of KWH (USCent) 6 and up, for 4 years

Reliability of Supply Reliable source of energy due to continuous flow of traffic

Nowadays, none of the power plants in the world is totally perfect by its efficiency, because the power plant with highest efficiency in the world has 85% and it produces electricity by fuel generators and steam turbines and the exhausted heat will be combined and utilized later. The perfect power plant must also combine wind turbines and solar panels for energy production, and the lighting of the power plant must be given by some green speed bumps installed in all roads of the power plant because heavy vehicles will pass there with slow velocity almost all the time.

P a g e 10 | 11

The following is a picture illustrating how would be a perfect power plant:

***

***

***

P a g e 11 | 11