The Design and Construction of a Vehicular Wind Energy Converter

The present energy situation in the world has necessitated the need to harness energy from other unconventional sources. Wind energy from a moving vehicle as one of such unconventional sources could be harnessed and subsequently used in a vehicle and thereby reduce the fuel consumption. This project is directed at harnessing energy from a moving vehicle. Basic design parameters for the vehicular wind energy converter were obtained. Some passenger vehicles plying Ibadan metropolis and also the speed limits for various types of vehicles on different types of roads. Thereafter, models were developed for the design of the wind turbine. One of the developed models was investigated by varying the blade parameters such as blade materials and thicknesses to determine its optimum design capacities while the other model was developed to estimate the wind force and power on the blades at various wind velocities. A vehicular wind energy converter was then constructed using a mild steel of 2mm blade thickness, which was readily available and a Lundell alternator was used as the generator.