Study of Air Flow Around a Moving Vehicle as a Source of Energy

Abstract

The growing number of vehicles is related to the overall growth in the consumption of fuel from fossil fuels or electricity, so new ways are being sought to increase the efficiency of propulsion or the recovery of energy from driving. This article deals with the possibility of recovering kinetic energy from the movement of vehicles, specifically from the air flowing around a passing car. The subject of measurements and simulations were parameters influencing the amount of recovered energy such as the location of the wind turbine near the road, its distance from the side of the moving vehicle, turbine height from the road, speed and size of the vehicle front (car, bus, truck). The measured values were compared with the values from the simulations performed in the program Fluent, and it was shown that in passenger cars the highest air flow is 0.5–1 m above the road and the closest possible to vehicles. With regard to feasibility, the smallest distance was considered to be 0.5 m from the side of the vehicle. Measurements in real traffic showed delay of the air flow behind the vehicle by 1.5–3 s depending on the size of the vehicle and the need for sufficient traffic density. The high intensity of vehicles in urban and suburban areas predestines them to deploy this system. Conversely, in rail transport, given the low frequency of vehicles, the use of this system is unjustified.