DE102006022245A1 - Motorway system for e.g. passenger car, ha tent-like structures roofed over drive tracks of motorway system, and blowers for strong wind flow in driving direction so that vehicles move with following wind - Google Patents

Abstract

The system has tent-like structures roofed over drive tracks of the motorway system, and formed between an entry and an exit of the motorway system. The structures are erected with a scaffold from steel or plastic and a transparent tent casing, where the structures cover all drive tracks of the motorway system. Blowers are provided for strong wind flow in a driving direction, so that vehicles move with the following wind.

Description

The Invention is the technical field of emission protection and the Attributable to resource management.

problem

The Invention solves first of all the problem of high fuel consumption (energy consumption) Driving with motor-driven vehicles of all kinds (cars / trucks / motorcycles; Gasoline or hybrid engine powered) on the highway.

Especially at high speeds Vehicles by far the largest part of Power provided by the engine to overcome air resistance. The cars push the air ahead of them, up and to the side. To the air builds up in the front, then gives way to the top or to the front Side, where it bumps right against guardrail and bushes, swirls. Left push her along the currents generated by oncoming traffic together and quickly loses everywhere in speed and energy.

you can drive a certain distance A-B slowly or fast. Independently of the speed is the mass of the front of the vehicle aside to be cleared Air equal. At high speed, however, the air with greater force, with higher Speed and also thrown away. That's the reason that you have more fuel for the same route as needed at slow speed. The energy expenditure behaves roughly proportional to the speed, double the speed twice so much energy, half the pace half.

The patent invention provides here remedy.

second-rate It reduces the risk of accidents on motorways and increases ride comfort.

Description of the tent construction over one Highway as a wind tunnel

The The invention comprises a tent construction consisting of a steel framework and a Slide is built - similar to one Foil greenhouse, however, this tent construction will be over a highway, or one comparable expressway built. Each direction has a separate tent, the which includes two or three lanes plus lane and guardrails. To the scaffolding to protect against bouncing vehicles is between guardrail and Windkanalzelt an additional Concrete wall built.

The steel structure over which the film is stretched is divided into individual segments of 100 meters in length, which are constructed as follows:
At the beginning and at the end of the segment, heavy end bends are needed, which offer enough resistance to the cables stretched between them, so that they can not be knocked over by the tension.

Between they are inserted every 10 meters much lighter arches, the as a prop for the Serve wire ropes.

Between the end curves Wire ropes are stretched, which serve as stabilization for the film serve.

The Tent is surrounded by the surrounding atmosphere, above the Steel construction tensioned foil separated.

The Foil is attached to the floor by a specially developed clamping rail attached.

At the Entrance of the tent, strong fans provide a stream of air in the direction of travel is transported through the tent construction as a wind tunnel. These blowers will be at an extra for that built vehicle assembled.

Of the Tent entrance becomes funnel-shaped designed around the surface the blower to enlarge and accordingly the necessary To reduce airspeed.

A Alternative to this is the multi-level sequential staggering of blowers, within the first 100 meters of the tent.

By the generated airflow drive all vehicles with a corresponding tailwind (strong storm) and must thus provide less energy from their own engine for locomotion.

This leads under Overall, a significantly lower energy requirement for overcoming the route A-B by car, truck or motorized two-wheeler, the energy needs calculated to generate the air flow.

Primary effect of tent construction over one Highway as a wind tunnel

Tent construction over a highway as a wind tunnel saves a lot of energy:
Driving a car at high speed (120 km / h) requires a relatively high amount of energy per distance traveled (8 liters of gasoline per 100 km). The one of the Ge Blowing wind generated at the entrance to the tunnel (80 km / h) has an effect on air resistance and the required energy expenditure, as if it were only at the differential speed of vehicle and air, ie a low speed (120 km / h - 80 km / h = 40 km / h). Of course, it actually moves at high speed (120 km / h).

Secondary effect of tent construction over one Highway as a wind tunnel

The Driving safety and ride comfort are increased:

Safety:

The always dry pavement has a significant positive effect on the braking distance, apart from snow and ice.

fog and rain, all the time polluting discs eliminated, aquaplaning, likewise crosswind and the glare from the sun or oncoming traffic.

All, even weak motor vehicles, can in all situations the allowed or desired Maintaining speed, especially trucks on inclines. Thereby decreases the number of overtaking events; those, which nevertheless take place, take place more quickly. Thus reduced the emergence of fast vehicles and the associated "jostling".

The Tent, both the pipe construction and in connection with it planned reinforcement of Crash barriers, prevent reliable, that a vehicle gets left on the oncoming lane or on the right the embankment falls down. In most cases However, already the guardrails should ensure that a vehicle not with the scaffolding comes into contact. This is for such collisions not designed. An entire segment of 100 meters of poles would indeed probably not collapse, but deformed and might have to be completely renewed become.

With The tent thus eliminates the most important accident causes.

Comfort:

The Sun no longer bangs directly on the car roof.

It creates a lower noise level open Window.

There weaker Vehicles with less engine power reach higher speeds, is the engine noise quieter.

in the Tent is it (during the day) Although bright, but the direct sunlight is muted. It Never rain, the windows stay clean. In a relative Speed of 40 km / h to the surrounding air flow, there are hardly wind noise and also the engine stretches far less.

prejudicial could be that the air in the tent is worse. At existing tunnels, before Everything in the Alps can be read as follows only roadway separate tunnels: shorter Buildings can do without ventilation. For tents, some longer are as the here announced 10 km, fans are used, which cause a relatively slow exchange of air and yet for a sufficient air quality to care. As you can easily figure out, the air lingers in ours 10 km long highway tent at a flow speed of 80 km / h only 7.5 minutes, i. At the end of the tent, the air was 7.5 minutes long exposed to an emission of exhaust gases. A vehicle with 2 Liters displacement, which with 4000 rev / min and with 120 km / h the tent was passed through 20 cubic meters of air through the engine "pull", but only about 5 cubic meters of "consume", as it is not nearly full throttle needed. In contrast, stand him, at a distance of 25 m to each in front of him and behind him Vehicle 5000 cubic meters of air available. So it will only 1 per thousand air touched in the tent. One for the drivers noticeable impairment the air quality in the tent is therefore not to be feared.

It It is to be expected that the air in the tent warms more in the sunshine than "outside". Added to that the heat generated by the engines is caught in the tent. In the end, it could easily be 35 degrees in the tent or even warmer will - say we are 40 - if outside in sunshine 30 degrees prevail. Thinking, we to the vehicles, which are not equipped with air conditioning or because of this not use the operating costs: The higher air temperature is across from, that it is also here at 120 km / h pleasant with an open window drive and above all, that the sun is no longer unhindered on the roof of the car "bangs", which is known to be temperatures lead to 80 degrees inside can. How the sunscreen through the film affects exactly depends on theirs technical characteristics in detail.

indirect Use

The fact that the road surface is protected against both frost and direct sunlight can not be harmful to them. It would be conceivable that cheaper road surfaces used These can be optimized for other properties, such as rolling resistance or noise, or that road surfaces have to be replaced less frequently - so fewer construction sites. Apart from the certainly very important financial aspects, this would also lead to a reduction of congestion and accidents.

There the trucks can also keep up if it goes uphill, could maybe on the special extension of the carriageway of 2 be dispensed on 3 tracks on slopes.

Existing "creeping marks" could be confiscated become.

embodiment

When Take, for example, a highway with two lanes, so the wind tunnel 12 m wide and with a roughly semicircular cross section 5.5 m high is. We take a length from 10 km.

Of the air flow to be generated should have a speed of 80 km / h; this corresponds to 22.2 m / sec. At the given cross-section of the tent of approx. 58.3 m2 m will do this the energy of about 400,000 joules per second needed. The corresponds to about 12.9 million million joules in the year.

Calculation:

• Cross section of the tent: 58.3 m2
• Air volume per second: 58.3 m2 · 22.2 m = 1294.26 m3
• Air weight: 1294.26 x 1.28 kg = 1656.653 kg
• Energy requirement per second: 1656,653 / 2 · (22,2) 2 = approx. 408,232 joules = 12,874,016 million joules / year

at theoretically we need about 364,703 blowers driven by diesel engines Liters of fuel, since 1 liter contains about 35 million joules. Because For diesel engines, however, the efficiency of about 40% to be considered is 911,758 liters.

Now The airflow on its way through the tent due to friction the walls and the linkage braked. To the flow speed to maintain more fans work within the tent - if nobody drives in the tent. However, this in-momentum holding of the airflow is taken over by the vehicles, which are all faster than the air (should be). ever by average speed and number of vehicles and by length of the tent could the actual flow rate settle in the air between 70 and 90 km / h.

On The highway drive small and large cars and trucks with a different Consumption of 4 L / 100 km in a slow-moving small diesel car, over 8 liters / 100 km, which requires a 130 km / h moving mid-range car, over 15 L / 100 km, which is a 150 km / h fast moving SUV or a motorhome need up to 35 L / 100 km, which consumes a truck. We go from an average Consumption of 12 liters / 100 km. At a tent length of 10 km results in an average consumption of 1.2 liters per vehicle.

at Driving through the tent, the vehicles move at the same Final speed relative to the air only at 20 km / h (equivalent 100 km / h) or 40 km / h (equivalent to 120 km / h) to 100 km / h (corresponds 180 km / h). Take an average speed from absolutely 120 km / h, that is the relative speed to the air is 40 km / h. Consume They only spend a little more than 1/3 of the fuel for the same distance, so about 4.5 liters / 100 km or 0.45 L / 10 km Windkanalzelt. Compared to the Consumption without a tent thus results in a saving of 7.5 liters / 100 km. (A vehicle "sailing" in airflow without an engine would save the 1.2 liters by 100%.

If the motorway passes every 3 seconds during the day (from 7 am to 7 pm), every 12 seconds at night, the traffic density is at:
Daytime: 1 h / 3 = 1,200 vehicles / h
At night: 1 h / 12 = 300 vehicles / h
= 12 · (1200 + 300) = 18,000 vehicles per 24 hours

These would, without the presence of a tent, in the year:
18,000 · 1.2 L · 365 = 7,884,000, ie consume about 8 million liters.

By erecting a tent at the same traffic density only:
18,000 · 0.45 L · 365 = 2,956,500, ie about 3 million liters consumed.

The corresponds to a saving of approx. 5 million liters / year.

at a jam or tough running Traffic, the energy of the fans is wasted useless. she can switched off or reduced.

alternatives

The concrete proposal for the design of the tent tunnel described here is only one of many possible variants and could certainly be explained by more detailed theoretical considerations, be refined and improved by experiments and ultimately by a trial structure. In particular, it has been refrained to propose special driving and behavioral rules or to approach the construction of the vehicles. But there are still big potentials here.

Highways with three directional lanes

So far everything was here for Highways calculated with two directional lanes. At three sprays and a correspondingly wider tent will shift weights within the calculations. In the end, however, results in an equivalent Result with a tendency to even higher profitability.

Four and more directional roads

at so wide lanes is the self-supporting proposed here Steel arch design no longer makes sense. On the other hand, one would be possible suspension supported on pylons Construction.

Speed of airflow

The in the embodiment speed assumed to be 80 km / h is chosen arbitrarily. A even faster flow would be some Problems harden (Tent entrance, leaving the vehicle in the tent); every slower one flow would the Reduce energy-saving effect.

fan

For the arrangement the blower At the entrance to the tent, a single-stage solution in funnel shape comes in front of the tent Tent in question or a multi-stage solution with lower fan performance at the entrance and further blowers within the first tent section.

Instead of at the tent entrance could the blowers too be installed at the outlet (suck), or both at the entrance as also at the exit.

Instead of from diesel fuel, which is cheaper reserved for the vehicles, can Naturally also all other fuels for the drive of the fans can be used, e.g. Natural gas. Instead of internal combustion engines can also Electric motors are used - or a drive with power the produced by internal combustion engines - which is probably best Solution.

Especially at tents in north-south direction run and thus transverse to the main wind direction "West", could depending on topology over to build up the first of the tent wind speeds, which is an economic power generation enable. The energy gained could et al to drive the fans be used.

Shape of the tent

optimal Shape would be an exact semicircle as a tent cross section. The problem is that at a width of 12 m at the left edge of the roadway as well At the right edge of the stand track is not reached the height necessary for tall trucks and buses is required. Variation possibilities would change result if the left lane were generally blocked for high vehicles (more see below).

construction of the tent

It was previously left open whether the film is on the inside of the framework or whether it spans the outside. There are four interesting alternatives here. First, the following should be clear:
"Actually," the film needs no support. Because of the injected air flow, an overpressure is created which would inflate the film to an exactly semicircular cross section. (There are buildings made of foil, which are built and held by blown air.)

at a failure of the fan would the slide Slowly sinking, since only on the (long) way to the Ends of the tunnel can escape. Normally, however, the scaffolding serves only to the fact that the film also in a lateral wind of Outside maintains its shape.

Foil inside

is If the film inside, so would have they are attached to the tension wires at numerous points, in one Segment of 100 m approximately at 8000 points (4 fixings / sqm). This has the disadvantage of being time consuming to install and remove is.

Foil outside

The film "floats" by the air pressure over the scaffolding and is pressed against the scaffolding in crosswinds. Apart from the anchoring in the provided clamping rail on the ground further attachments are not required. This solution has the disadvantage that the pipe bends are now in the tunnel interior and form a resistance that gradually slows down the air. This is not insignificant, since it amounts to about 1 m ² or almost 2% of the tunnel cross-section to every 10 m. It depends on traffic how much the airflow slows down until this is offset by the acceleration of the faster moving vehicles becomes. If necessary, smaller fans would have to be installed in the tunnel, about every kilometer, to maintain flow velocity.

Foil between pipe bends (outside) and tension wires (Inside)

Of the above-mentioned Resistance was eliminated as it wires parallel to the airflow run. Because the wires through the foil on the pipe bends would have to be attached the film is again consuming to remove.

Two slides

A Wrapped in foil from the outside the linkage and keeps wind and weather. Inside there is another slide, the for one low-resistance flow channel provides. The inner foil needed only a few attachment points on the construction, since only must prevent falling down in case of failure of the fan.

steel construction

ever After, where the film is located, there are numerous variations for the quality and shaping the construction, e.g. instead of galvanized pipes plastic-coated or painted, plastic ropes instead of steel wires, cross bracing for snow-load endangered tunnels u.v.a.m.

Changes to the Highway Code and at the vehicles

• 1. Es spricht eigentlich wenig gegen ein generelles Überholverbot für LKW im Zelt. Denn alle LKW können von der Motorleistung her die erlaubte Höchstgeschwindigkeit spielend einhalten. Würde man für LKW mit Problemen die Standspur für sehr langsames Fahren freigeben, so wäre das generelle Verbot für die linke Spur eigentlich folgerichtig. Dies würde eine deutlich abweichende Formgebung des Tunnels ermöglichen, mit dem Ziel einer geringeren Bauhöhe, geringeren Baukosten und geringerem Energieverbrauch für die Gebläse.
• 2. In Anbetracht dessen, dass im Tunnel die Fahrbahn stets trocken und die Sicht stets gut sein wird, und dass auch bei hohen Geschwindigkeiten geringe Luftkräfte wirken, wäre zu prüfen, ob die erlaubte Höchstgeschwindigkeit für LKW nicht auf 100 km/h angehoben werden könnte. Abgesehen vom volkswirtschaftlichen Nutzen würde dies auch zur weiteren Homogenisierung des Verkehrsflusses führen und unfallträchtige Situationen eher vermindern.
• 3. Das für die Motoren leichte Fahren im Tunnel würde es noch attraktiver machen, den größten (5.) Gang sehr "lang" zu machen oder einen speziellen 6. Tunnelgang vorzusehen. In diesem könnte dann, bei niedrigem Drehmoment, niedriger Leistung und vor allem einem nochmals deutlich reduzierten Kraftstoffverbrauch gefahren werden.

Here are some examples:

• 1. There is actually little against a general overtaking ban for trucks in the tent. Because all trucks can keep the engine speed from the allowed maximum speed easily. If one were to release the lane for very slow driving for trucks with problems, the general ban on the left lane would actually be logical. This would allow a significantly different shape of the tunnel, with the aim of a lower overall height, lower construction costs and lower energy consumption for the blower.
• 2. Considering that in the tunnel the road will always be dry and the visibility will always be good, and that even at high speeds low air forces act, it would be necessary to check whether the maximum allowed speed for trucks could not be raised to 100 km / h , Apart from the economic benefit, this would also lead to further homogenization of the traffic flow and rather reduce accident-prone situations.
• 3. The light driving in the tunnel for the engines would make it even more attractive to make the largest (5th) gear very "long" or to provide a special 6th tunnel gear. This could then, with low torque, low power and, above all, a significantly reduced fuel consumption.

Shorter times

The Previous calculations assume that the blowers are around operate around the clock, even in periods of low traffic. Now the efficiency of the tent is the greater the denser the traffic is. The costs are the same in heavy and weak traffic; the Fuel saving of the vehicles is however proportional to the traffic density. If only one vehicle per hour happens at night, fuel saves and tolls, then it can reduce the hassle of blower work Naturally can not be compensated - both in financial as well as in energy terms. Would the fan switched off in the time of the unprofitable traffic volume, would result even cheaper in every way Values.

Claims (1)

The combination as a whole should be patented: The overbuilding the roadway - one Highway or any expressway - with a tent in which through a fan an air flow is generated in the direction of travel. Unclaimed will be the patenting of technical details.