GB2126963A

GB2126963A - Air powered electrical vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2126963A
Application number: GB08201614A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Stuart Brierley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-01-20
Filing date: 1982-01-20
Publication date: 1984-04-04
Also published as: GB2126963B

Abstract

The invention is a method of producing electrical power in situ for use in the propelling of a moving vehicle through an air passage. This is achieved by streamlining the air of the air passage, then channelling the air through into a small cross-sectional area, by appropriate design of the vehicle, so that the air is accelerated to a relatively high velocity, substantially increased over that of the moving vehicle. The forward kinetic energy of the air stream is therefore increased in accordance with Bernoulli's theorem and is therefore capable of producing sufficient energy to not only overcome the air resistance of the vehicle but also most of the other drains on the power consumption of the vehicle, such as frictional forces. The kinetic energy of the air stream so induced is harnessed by placing an air turbine system in the path of the air stream, in an optimised position towards the rear of the vehicle. A generator is connected to the air turbine and the electric energy produced is fed to an electric motor, which propels the vehicle. This electrical energy could either be fed directly to the motor or first be transferred to a battery storage system. Whilst there are a number of air turbine systems that could be employed with this invention a special dual turbine arrangement is described in the request specification.

Description

SPECIFICATION Air power for propulsion CONTENTS Section Page INTRODUCTION 1 Summary of Current Energy Provision 2 The Problem with Energy PROJECT 3 The Idea and Some of the Principles upon which the Idea is based 3.1 The Idea 3.2 The Principles involved 4 A more General Look at the Principles Involved 5 Design Features 5.1 Car Body Design 5.1.1 General considerations 5.1.2 Suggested Designs A. Frontal Design B.Rear Design 5.2 Turbine Design 5.2.1 Arrangement 5.2.2 Primary Turbine 5.2.3 Secondary Turbine 5.3 Further Discussion on the Partial Vacuum Beneath the Car 5.4 Generator-Some Related Design Considerations 5.5 Battery System-Some Design Considerations 5.6 Materials 6 Verification of the Feasibility of the Idea by Calculation 6.1 Calculation to Determine the Amount of Energy Produced by the Turbine System 6.2 Calculation to Estimate the Drag Forces Acting upon the vehicle 6.3 Summary Table of the Results 6.4 Further Discussions of the Results 7 G.A. Drawing Notes 8 Text Figure Diagrams 9 General Arrangement Design Drawings 3 The idea and some of the principles upon which the idea is based 3.1 The idea The idea is a method to provide power for the propulsion of a road vehicle.The same principle could probably also be extended to include other forms of transport-for example, trains. However, this report deals solely with the principle as applied to a road vehicle.

Essentially the idea is to induce a high level of kinetic energy of motion into the localised air through which a vehicle is travelling and convert this kinetic energy by means of an air turbine into electrical energy, which would then be used to power the vehicle.

3.2 The principles involved Air primarily comprises a mixture of gases, i.e. 79% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, 1% Carbon dioxide, and two other important constituents water and dust particles. These latter two components provide sources for the storage of solar energy within our atmosphere, and approximately 19% of all the sun's energy which is transmitted to Earth is contained within the air surrounding the Planet. This solar energy gives rise to the kinetic energy of motion of the winds and waves, both of which can be harnessed to give wind and wave power. The atmospheric solar energy is also important in the hydrological cycle which gives rise to the gravitational energy of rivers, from which hydroelectricity is produced.

Air has a number of important properties and the idea is primarily dependent upon four of these, as follows: 1) Air is structured in layers which enables it to have excellent shear and flow properties.

2) On being caused to flow by some means or other, air has imparted to it kinetic energy of motion. In the case of a natural wind this flow is brought about by high and low pressure regions in the atmosphere which cause the air to flow from the high to the low pressures zones. Thus, the solar energy which went into the creation of these high and low pressure regions is converted into the kinetic energy of motion of a wind.

3) A relatively high velocity air stream undergoes very little compression when confronted by a restriction to flow, or a vertical plate at right angles to the direction of flow. In the former case, in order to compensate for a reduced flow space, there is a proportional increase in the velocity of an air stream flowing through the reduced region.

4) The sum of the dynamic pressure of an air stream, i.e. it's kinetic energy of motion, and the static local pressure of the air, are a constant, in accordance with Bernoulli's equation.

These four properties are all inter-related and the idea is based around them. When a car travels forward through air it has somehow to forge a path through the air, and the displaced air passes around the car on all sides.

Consider two cases, as follows: Car A-a car with a vertical front Figure 1 A-Air passage associated with the Car B--Large amount of turbulence in the wake of the car.

Car B--a highly streamlined car Figure 2 A-Air passage associated with the car B--Little turbulence in the wake of the car, and layered structuring is reconstituted fairly rapidly.

In the case of Car A a large amount of the power being placed into the car will be expended in pushing aside the air and forging a pathway for itself. With the streamlined car, on the other hand, a comparatively small amount of the input energy is expended in forging a pathway through the air.

Therefore, for this latter car to travel at the same velocity as Car A, a much less input of energy would be required, given that they were of similar weights and had the same level of frictional forces to overcome.

When Car A impacts into the air, as illustrated, a large proportion of the car's own kinetic energy of motion is transferred to the air, and energy is expended in this manner. As a result, a high degree of air turbulence takes place around the car and at its rear, which creates drag forces on the car. With Car B a totally different effect takes place with respect to the air passage associated with the car. Here the car still has to forge a pathway for itself through the air passage, but, because of it's pointed front and streamlined body, it is an action to cleave the layered air and slip between the separated layers, pushing them apart, as the wedged shaped body passes through, with the creation of little air turbulence. Hence, compared with Car A, this car expends very littel energy in overcoming the resistance to forward motion presented to it by the air passage.Furthermore, as a result of this method of passing through the air passage, the air which is displaced by the volume of the car is caused to accelerate as it passes over the surfaces of the car body. This acceleration occurs because air does not compress at these velocities, but instead it accelerates around the car, thereby compensating for the loss in space in the air passage due to the volume of the car. The greater the volume of the displaced air, the more will be the acceleration of this air as it passes over the car body.

At the front of the car the air will have an effective air windspeed, in relation to the car, equal to the speed of the car, assuming the air passage to be comprised of still air. The velocity attained by the displaced air, in relation to the car, as it streams over the body of the car, will be something over and above this frontal relative air speed. The final air velocity achieved by this acceleration will depend on the efficiency with which the car's shape can cleave and streamline the air layers; the amount of the displaced air; the nature of the streamlining, i.e. whether the air streams are caused to undergo concentration. If this latter is the case, then higher velocities will result.

As with a natural wind, the streamline air, as created in the above manner, will have a kinetic energy of motion. This kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the velocity of the air stream.

Thus, because of this squared relationship, there is substantial energy advantage to be gained by concentrating the air streams and increasing their velocity in this way.

Thus, the basis of the idea is to produce a car with low air resistance, which induces a high degree of streamlining and has a fairly high displacement capacity, concentrate the air streams and then harness the kinetic energy of motion of this relatively high velocity air stream. In order to do this, an air turbine would be placed at right angles to the air stream at the point of highest air velocity and the kinetic energy of motion of the air stream then converted into electrical energy. This would then be stored in batteries, which in turn would provide the power to propel the car by means of an electric motor.

The positioning and design of the turbine system would be such that it would itself have little overall effect on the resistance to forward motion of the car. On the contrary, it is hoped that some of the normal drag forces that are associated with a conventional car could be reduced by the incorporation of this turbine system.

The following illustrations are intended to diagramatically show some of the points which have been made. However, it should be borne in mind that these illustrations are not the final design of the car being proposed, but will serve to illustrate fairly simply some of the principles involved: The situation that exists with a normal streamlined car Figure 3 A-The air passage involved with the vehicles forward motion.

B-Point of highest velocity of the air stream.

The dotted line above the vehicle represents the point at which the air changes from its normal stationary state to the moving state associated with the forward motion of the car. In reality, this point would be a fairly less well-defined region than indicated.

A car with a turbine system incorporated Figure 4 A-The air passage associated with the car's forward motion.

Upper Unit on the car to confine the displaced air and help direct the air streams towards the turbine system.

C-Air turbine electrical generating system to harness the kinetic energy of motion of the streamlined air when the flow is at its maximum velocity.

Subsequent calculations carried out in Section 6 will show that it should be possible to induce sufficient Kinetic Energy into the air stream and convert it into electrical energy by an amount sufficient to power the car.

The success of the method depends primarily on how successful one is at inducing and sustaining an increased velocity air stream and on how well one can overcome negative drag forces.

Possible ways and means of achieving both of these factors are dealt with in the ensuing pages, among other relevant aspects.

A further point to appreciate at this stage is as follows: Consider two cars: Figure 5-This representing a very light car with low frictional forces to overcome.

Figure 6-This being an indentically shaped car to Fig. 5, but very much heavier and more frictional forces to overcome.

Because of its lightness and low frictional forces, the first car would require very much less input of energy than would the second car to achieve similar speeds.

However, because they are identically shaped with the same air displacement capacity and inducing identical streamlining, they will both produce the same amount of electrical energy, given identical generating systems.

Therefore, the ratio of produced energy to used energy would be very much more favourable in the case of the first light car, with the amount of energy produced being much more likely to be sufficient to power the car without any external addition of energy, even though they are both identical in shape and size.

Another point that is easy to appreciate at this stage is that the Kinetic Energy of Motion induced into the air is a totally separated entity from the Kinetic Energy of Motion of the car in certain respects, being primarily dependent upon the shape and speed of the car rather than its weight and speed.

Therefore, the amount of energy needed to power the car is a separate entity from the amount of energy the vehicle is capable of producing.

The implication of these observations is that it is not unreasonable to perceive that under cartain conditions more energy could be being produced than is needed to power the vehicle.

The next section (4) deals with a more general and deeper look at some of the principles involved in the idea and the subsequent sections then continues more specifically with the actual car being proposed.

4. A more general look at the principles involved The shearing of air layers is govenered by the Bernoulli's Equation, as follows: P ±21pV2=Constant where P is the local static pressure V is the velocity p is the air density.

The Venturi effect gives a good illustration of air behaving in this manner. In this effect a stream of air is caused to flow through a narrowed section of a flow through a narrowed section of a flow tube, viz.

Figure 7 A-Flow beginning to speed up at this point.

B-Point of highest speed of the Air flow.

C-Flow starting to slow down at this point.

The air does not compress as it passes through the narrowed section, but its velocity increases such that the same volume of air passes through the narrow section as that flowing through the broader sections. Thus, on passing through the narrow section the velocity of the air increases and hence its kinetic energy of motion increases. This is sometimes called the dynamic pressure of the air.

As the dynamic pressure increases there is a corresponding decrease in the local pressure of air.

The relationship between the velocity and local pressure is given by the Bernoulli's Equation: P+ 2pV2=Constant The expression 2pV2 is the dynamic pressure of the air and quantifies its kinetic energy of motion.

The highest velocity occurs at point B, i.e. in the narrowed section of the flow tube. Therefore in this region its dynamic pressure, or kinetic energy of motion, is at its highest. Accompanying this increase in dynamic pressure is a corresponding decrease in local pressure, viz, Figure 8 Points A, B and C as on Figure 7.

a-Maximum dynamic pressure acting in the forward plane.

b-Minimum local pressure acting at right angles to forward plane.

At point C the air velocity is beginning to slow down as the tube broadens, resulting in a lowering of dynamic pressure and a corresponding increase in local pressure.

The sum of the dynamic pressure and the local pressure at all points, B and C-is always equal to the same constant, in accordance with the Bernoulli's Equation.

Bernoulli's principles as applied to aircraft flight Inducing air flow and pressure differences in compliance with the Bernoulli's Equation is one of the main principles involved in aircraft flight.

Considering the profile of an aircraft wing as it travels through the air, viz, Figure 9 A-At this point below the wing a decrease in the velocity of air flow takes place, resulting in a decrease in dynamic pressure but a corresponding increase in local pressure.

B-At this point above the wing an incrase in the air flow velocity occurs causing an increase in dynamic pressure and a corresponding decrease in local pressure.

The splitting of the air layers in this way is known as streamlining the air.

Flying an aircraft makes use of the fact that a low local pressure is created above the wing and a relatively high local pressure is created below the wing. Thus, a lifting force acts upon the wing, with 'suction pressure' acting on the upper side of the wing and 'push pressure' acting on the underside of the wing.

Another important effect in the streamlining of the air is that a boundary layer of air is formed on the surface of the streamlining object that is travelling through the air, forming a stationary skin of air on the surface of the object. This acts as a boundary between the object and moving air flow. As the air layers get further away from the surface of the object, then their velocities increase. As long as this surface skin of air remains intact then there are virtually no drag froces holding back the wing.

However, if the surface layer of air breaks away from the wing, which it can easily do if the angle of attack is not correct, then drag forces are created.

The problem with aircraft flight is to optimise the angle of attack to give maximum lift forces and minimum drag forces. This is a very critical and sensitive angle and it is of the order of 40 inclination in relation to the horizontal plane.

Although there is this stationary skin of air on the surface of the object, the full air velocity is reached not too far off the surface of the object, i.e. within a fraction of an inch.

In aircraft flight little use is made of the kinetic energy of motion that is created by the increased velocity of air flow, i.e. of the dynamic air pressure created by the wings. However, by considering air flight, it is easy to see the potential energy that is contained in the kinetic energy of motion, since this pressure energy increases by an amount effectively equal to the lifting capacity of the lowered local pressure, in accordance with the Bernoulli's Equation.

The kinetic energy of motion of the air stream can potentially all be converted into pressure energy on striking a vertical plate placed in the path of the air stream. The total force acting upon the plate is equal to 2pv2 x area of the plate. Therefore this represents a potential source of energy and can be harnessed by placing a turbine in the path of the air stream and converting the rotatory motion of the turbine into electrical energy by means of an electrical generator, in a similar manner to wind electrical generation.

This, therefore, is the energy source on which the idea depends, as discussed in Section 3.

At first sight, because there is no apparent external addition of energy (hopefully), such a method of propulsion may appear to be the allusive perpetual motion that Man has strived to achieve. Indeed, in the original concept of perpetual motion this type of propulsion may in fact meet all the necessary criteria used for the definition of perpetual motion. However, there is, of course, a very definite source of energy, this being the kinetic energy of the air streams passing over the car body, induced by the shape and speed of the car. This can be regarded as the Primary Energy Source. The end use energy is the electrical energy which is produced from the kinetic energy, a process which is carried out on the spot whilst the vehicle is travelling forward, and, indeed, a process which is dependent upon the forward motion of the car. The functional energy is the amount of electrical energy actually used in propelling the vehicle.

Thus, what in fact is happening within the energy cycle is a reduction to a bare minimum of all the intermediary steps in going from primary to functional energy, with the benefits of economy and efficiency ensuing.

Considering similar diagrams to those given in the previous section, as follows: Figure 10 A-The car's air passage.

B-A car with a vertical front, travelling forward through it's air passage.

Here the kinetic energy of motion of the car is used up in pushing aside the air molecules and energy passes from the vehicle to the air, in accordance with Newton's Laws concerning conservation of energy.

Figure 11 A-Low pressure boundary layer on the surface of the car.

B-High forward dynamic pressure of the air stream flow over the car.

C-Air Turbine Electrical Generation System.

D-Emission of used air, effective in lowering the rear drag forces.

E-Electrical Energy.

F-Electrical Propulsion.

In the case of the car, its streamlining has caused the air to split into two separate components, in accordance with the Bernoulli's Equation: P+2pV2=Constant. These are: (a) A low local pressure, P in the above equation, on the surfaces of the car over which the air is streaming, enabling the car to travel much more freely through the air, and without the need to expend large amounts of energy in pushing the air.

(b) A corresponding high dynamic pressure streaming over the car towards the air turbine, reprnsentedby-21pVin the above equation, the energy of which is then converted into electrical energy to be used for further propulsion of the vehicle.

Thus, with the streamlined car, less energy is expended in passing through the air in comparison to the first car, and the air which would have caused this energy to be expended, instead, is caused to give energy to the vehicle for its propulsion. This air then goes on to reduce rear drag forces in comparision with the previous car.

Thus, in the case of the streamlined car, there is an overall threefold improvement in the energy inputioutput balance, in relation to the first car.

An important aspect of this process is the effectiveness with which drag forces can be minimised, not only due to the body of the car, but also due to the turbine system. This is dealt with in various places following.

The power required to propel a car forward has to overcome several drains on that power, as follows: 1) The air resistance of the vehicle, i.e. the energy which is expended in forging a pathway through the air passage, and this-the air resistance of a vehicles comprised of two main components: (a) Form drag This is the energy required to move aside the air molecules through which the car is travelling, due to the form of the car, i.e. due to its shape and size; (b) Frictional drag This is the energy required to overcome car body surface to air frictional forces. The smoother the surface, the lower the frictional drag.

2) The mechanical frictional forces It is worth commenting here that the mechanical frictional forces of the turbine generating system in the car being proposed are separate from the mechanical drive frictional forces which the electric motor propulsion system has to overcome.

3) Tyre to road frictional forces Having put sufficient energy into the propulsion system to overcome the above forces, then whatever energy is remaining is available for acceleration of the car to the desired speed and then for maintaining that speed. In a car powered by petrol the breakdown of the input end use energy is approximately as follows, for a normal saloon car:

Total end use energy - 65%--wasted heat energy 20%used in overcoming air resistance and the mechanical frictional forces Functional energy 1 5%-used for overcoming tyre to road forces; acceleration and maintaining speed To put it another way, the functional energy is used roughly in the proportion of 50:50, for overcoming air resistance: other energy usages, air resistance being the main factor in the 20% fraction above.

As can be seen from this breakdown, the petrol engine is a very inefficient system for propulsion, with 65% of the end use input energy being wasted as unusable heat energy. In the car being proposed this is obviously not the case and there is little wastage of energy due to heat.

However, this car has to overcome similar forces to the conventional car, and therefore one might expect 50% of the input energy to be used up in overcoming the air resistance to forward motion and 50% for the other power requirements, the same as for a conventional car's functional energy usage.

Just to consider the energy being produced by the turbine car in relation to the energy being consumed by the car-Like other cars, maximum energy consumption will occur during acceleration or when ciimbing a steep gradient, whilst at a cruising speed, or going down an incline, energy consumption would be substantially lower. Under these latter two conditions, the acquired momentum energy of the vehicle would contribute enormously to the maintenance of speed. Thus, power consumption may be say 50 HP during acceleration or when climbing, and only about 20 HP when going down a hill.

The energy being produced by the air turbine, on the other hand, would be occurring in the opposite manner. Peak production would take place during cruising speeds. This would take advantage of the acquired momentum energy of the vehicle, whilst the energy which is produced going down a hill can in a way be regarded as bonus gravitational energy being placed into the energy production system via conversion into momentum energy of the car. Thus, one of the principles of the idea is that the excess energy that would be produced at cruising speeds would be stored in batteries for use during say acceleration when energy consumption would probably be more than the system was producing. The overall effect would become equalised over the full length of a journey. This aspect is dealt with further in Section 6, in relation to the results of the calculations.

A point that can be appreciated at this stage, however, is that the weight is an important factor, not only in relation to the power requirements needed to overcome the gravitational pull on the car, this being of a negative nature, but also on the positive side of the energy balance in relation to the momentum energy attainable by the car.

Therefore, occupants of the car become an integral part of the energy cycle, contributing to the over-supply of energy during cruising, and contributing to the over-usage of energy during say an acceleration move. Hopefully, over the full length of the journey these will cancel each other out and the occupants will have travelled on their journey for free in terms of energy usage.

An important factor in the system being proposed is the efficiency with which the kinetic energy of a high velocity stream of air can be transferred and transformed into a turbine rotation.

The kinetic energy of any moving body is represented by the following equation: E=2 mV2, as derived by Newton where m=mass, and V=velocity In the system that we are considering, the mass, m, in the above equation has been replaced by p, the density of air, and thus we obtain the dynamic pressure half of the Bernoulli's equation, i.e.

KE=2PV2 This represents the dynamic pressure (or the kinetic energy) of the moving air stream per unit area.

Therefore, the total pressure force due to the air stream acting upon the impellers of the turbine will be equal to: TpV2, multiplied by the cross-sectional area of the impact zone.

On impact, several things can happen to the kinetic energy contained within the air stream, and not all of it will be converted into electrical energy. The Laws of Newton tell us that the total sum of the energies after a collision are equal to the sum of the energies before the collision. On impact at one extreme, and in the ideal case, all the air molecules will come totally to rest and transfer all of their kinetic energy two the impellers of the turbine where it would all be converted into rotatory energy. It can be derived from the Laws of Newton that the sum of the squares of the velocities before a collision is equal to the sum of the squares of the velocities after a collison, in compliance with the laws of conservation of energy.

Thus, if the collision was totally an elastic one, then the impellers of the turbine would acquire a rotation energy equivalent to the energy of the air stream, in accordance with the above relationship, and the air stream would maintain velocity.

However, all of the kinetic energy of motion of the air stream will not be converted into the full theoretical rotation velocity.

Firstly, it is not an elastic collision but only approaches this state. The EMF of the generator will be the principle factor here which will place a restraint on rotation, and then there are the mechanical friction forces of the system to overcome.

Secondly, some of the energy on impact will probably be converted into heat energy.

Thirdly, not all the air molecules in the air stream will pass on their kinetic energy of motion at the turbine impeller interface. For reasons discussed later, it is proposed that a dual turbine system is used, having a primary and secondary turbine in the path of the air stream. Just one of the benefits of this system could be that energy not captures at the primary stage would have a second chance of being passed on at the secondary turbine stage.

Another important factor upon which the success of the car will depend is the level to which the air stream can firstly be accelerated to, and then maintained, by the shape and streamlined nature of the car body.

Among other things this is dealt with fully in the next section, but a principle feature is the application of suctional forces at the exit to the turbine system, some of which are an inherent feature of any car, and others which are created through special design features.

5 Design features General arrangement diagrams of the design discussed in this section are given in the final section of this report-Section 7.

5.1 Car body design 5.1.1 General considerations The design of the car body is obviously probably the most important single aspect of this idea, since the whole success of the idea depends on how well one is able to streamline the air and induce and sustain an increased level of kinetic energy of motion into the air stream purely by means of the body design.

The basis of the problem is to create a shape which causes a maximised displacement of air, with a minimised level of drag forces acting negatively upon the car, whilst channeling, accelerating and concentrating as much of the displaced air as possible into one small region where its kinetic energy can be harnessed, again with as little effect on negative drag as possible. Drag is the resistance presented by the air to the forward movement of a vehicle moving through it and in general this is the summation of two components: (i) Form drag-the energy expended in pushing the air on one side; (ii) Friction drag-the resistance created between the car body and the layers of air moving over the body, (previously discussed in Section 4, page 22).

Since this method of propulsion will depend on maximum use being made of air streamlining designs, form drag will be at its minimum limit and friction drag will perhaps be a more important consideration of these two components. The friction drag will be proportional to the amount of car body surface area that the air is adjacent to. The more the air displacement, the more the surface area and the more the potential for frictional drag forces. On the one ha.nd, air displacement is required, on the other hand, frictional drag forces want to be minimised.

Much can be done to lower frictional drag by attention to car body surface finish, and this is dealt with more fully in Section 5, in the discussion on materials. There it is suggested that High Impact Resistance glass would be an ideal material to help to overcome frictional drag. This material has an extremely high degree of surface smoothness, and its ability to maintain an intact boundary layer of air would be very high. Maintenance of the boundary layer is the main factor in overcoming frictional drag, with of the order of tenfold improvements possible if the boundary layer can be kept totally intact. It is like creating a stationary fine cushion of air on the surface of the car body and in this way separating the surface from the adjacent moving layers of air.

It is of interest to make the point here that one way of demonstrating a truly elastic collison (a discussed in Section 4) is to overcome the frictional forces involved by placing the objects on a cushion of air. This, therefore, gives one an appreciation of how effective a cushion of air is in overcoming frictional forces, with air to solid forces becoming negligible in respect of friction.

In designing the body of this car, in order to separate, streamline and accelerate the air layers, there are several important effects to be aware of: (a) The tear drop shape This is the shape which parts the layers of air the best, with the minimum of resistance by the air, for an optimum appreciable volume of displaced air. In other words, it is the optimum shape for displacing the most air with the minimum amount of air drag. The shape has a length to breadth ratio of about 3:1, and its streamlining effect is as illustrated on Figure 12.

Figure 12 A-Forward moving streamlined, tear drop shaped, object.

B-Air passage associated with streamlined object.

Such a shape can have a drag coefficient as low as 0.05 compared with about 0.5 for a normal car shape.

(b) The Venturi effect This has previously been discussed in Section 4.

It is a shape which was originally designed in order to cause an acceleration of air through a tube, principally in order to make use of the localised low pressure for the suction of some other substance into the tube. For this purpose its shape is extremely critical for creating the correct level of low pressure. This shape is as shown on Figure 7, given in Section 4.

As described fully in Section 4, the relationship between the velocity and local pressure is given by the Bernoulli's equation: P ±21pV2=Constant Just to summarise the effects taking place as the air passes through the Venturi tube Velocity increasing-dynamic pressure increasing, i.e., 2pV2; local pressure decreasing, i.e., p.

B-High speed velocity-high dynamic pressure; low local pressure.

Velocity decreasing, dynamic pressure decreasing, local pressure increasing.

The term 'Venturi Effect' has now been extended to describe almost any set of conditions where an acceleration of air and a lowering of local pressure is brought about in air by shapes similar to that of the Venturi tube.

In this respect it is interesting to make the comparison that the Venturi tube's cross-sectional shape is very similar to that of the cross-section of two adjacent, opposite halves of a tear drop shape, with air passing between them. In recent years it has become a commonly used term to describe the effect due to shapes beneath a car which give rise to lowering of pressure through air acceleration.

This effect is illustrated on Figure 1 3.

Figure 13 A-Nose of car travelling forward.

B-Air passage.

C-Road surface.

D-Venturi effect occurring in the narrow section between the road surface and base of nose, creating an acceleration of the air flow and a lowering of local pressure, which helps in its road holding.

(c) Lift and drag effects These effects have been described to some extent in Section 4 in relation to a wing profile.

One of the more important aspects in relation to a car body is to try to create shapes which will keep the boundary layer intact, thereby cutting down drag forces.

Figure 14 illustrates the breaking away of a boundary layer on a typical shape, resulting in the creation of form drag forces.

C-Transition point.

D-Thicker turbulent layer, creating negative drag forces acting upon the surface towards the rear.

There are a number of problem areas on a car where form drag can be created and 15, a fairly streamlined car, highlights these regions: This illustration shows a vehicle moving forward through air, separating and displacing air, resulting in an acceleration of the air stream over the surface of the car body.

At the front of the car, in region A, separation of the air layers has not taken place too smoothly and a turbulent region is created, giving a higher resistance to forward motion. With a sharper front, a smoother separation would have taken place and the form drag in this region would have been reduced.

At B, in the windscreen region, the boundary layer has separated from the body, and a turbulent region is again created, causing another zone of increased air resistance.

At C, the boundary layer again breaks away from the surface, but unlike the previous regions. A and B, which are both areas of increased pressure pushing on the car, this is a region where the pressure is lower in comparison, resulting in a holding back force acting on the car.

D indicates drag froces due to the wheels and the shape of the underside of the car, which tend to act to hold down the car.

The regions such as E, where the boundary has remained intact, have the least resistace to forward movement, and here the increase in air velocity is approaching its highest level. A lift force is also created due to the local low pressure of the boundary layer.

This lift force can be a serious disadvantage, since it tends to lift the car off the road and thereby impair road holding and create instability.

The latest designs of cars which are trying to achieve low drag coefficients through streamlining have to try to optimise between lift and drag forces. Drag forces can be put to good use by causing them to act on the underside of the car, as described earlier. Thus these can counteract lift forces on the upper surfaces and give better road holding.

Another way to counteract lift effect is by an appropriate distribution of weight. In a conventional car this can sometimes prove a little difficult, since the internal components of the car have, more often than not, to be in a predetermined position. The car that I am proposing is more versatile in this respect, since its heaviest component, the battery storage system, can be split up and distributed around the car in the best positions to counteract regions of increased lift forces, all connected by appropriate wiring.

5.1.2 Suggested designs Arriving at the best car body design for the car being proposed is something which will ultimately have to be determined through trial and error experimentation, and for this, initial experiments with models in a wind tunnel would probably be advantageous from the point of view of keeping down development costs.

At this stage it is a question of applying oneself to the problem theoretically, bearing in mind all the various effects known to be possible from past experience. My initial designs did not particulary set out to make good use of the suctional drag forces at the rear of the vehicle, although even in those early designs these drag forces would have helped quite considerably.

As previously mentioned, some of these earlier designs are included in the Drawing Section, and these are Designs 4-9.

The later designs for the car, Designs 1, 2 and 3, attempt to make maximum use of the possible suctional forces that can be created at the rear.

In addition to this development, the frontal design and approaches to the turbine unit have also been developed further, and I intend to first explain these aspects in relation to Designs, 1, 2 and 3.

(a) Frontal design Obviously, the turbine system one chooses will have a large bearing on the body design, and again experimentation will ultimately be necessary to determine the best turbine design and system for the car. I explain more fully possible turbine systems in the next section (5.2). However, for the car design being proposed, at this stage, I have chosen a dual turbine system, comprising a primary and secondary unit which are interconnected. In Design 3, both of these are Radial Flow turbines as illustrated in the drawing.

Designs 1 and 2, on the other hand, employ Axial Flow Turbines. These systems are fully explained in the next section dealing with turbines.

Considering Design 3, the frontal design of the ar has first to achieve separation of the air layers as smoothly as possible, then cause the displaced air to flow unimpeded over the surface of the vehicle, during which concentration and acceleration of the air streams has to take place, with the car body itself having as little resistance to forward motion as possible.

Thus for the basic body shape I have used the upper half of a tear drop shape with a length to breadth ratio of approximately 2:1 for the full tear shape.

At the tear drdp's broadest point I have then created a Venturi shaped entry into the final air stream tunnel leading up to the turbines, in conjunction with an upper Unit, as illustrated.

The idea behind this design is to create an entry into the air stream tunnel, which theoretically would give a higher velocity at this early stage in the formation of the narrowed air stream than the theoretical air speed directly at the point of entry to the turbine. Theoretical air stream velocity is simply a function of cross-sectional area, with velocity being inversely proportional to cross-sectional area.

Thus, by this means, it is hoped that one could help to counteract any slowing down of the air stream due to a back pressure building up because of turbine rotation restraint, resulting from the build up of the back EMF of the generator. In other words, to try to maintain the power source, the induced high velocity air stream as close as possible to the theoretical maximum velocity. To further assist in this respect, a number of thin tear drop profiles, positioned across the full width of the air tunnel, have been situated in the air stream, as indicated.

It is hoped these would function as follows: After the Venturi entry, the air tunnel is allowed to increase slightly in size, which will have a slowing down effect on the air stream, but then two of the tear drop profiles have been placed in the air stream parallel and equidistant apart, in order to accelerate the air stream back up to the Venturi entry speed. On passing these profiles the speed will again start to slow down, but then the same process is repeated, with a further set of the tear drop profiles, which will raise the speed of the air flow again just prior to entry into the turbine system.

In addition to this repeated speeding up process, the profiles should also function as a kind of a one way valve system. If one considers the equilibrium balance between air flowing in and air flowing outwards, the in-flowing air would establish its maximum velocity, as it goes by the profiles, much quicker than the air flowing outwards, and therefore, the in-flowing air should overcome and shift the equilibrium air velocity further towards maximum.

Thus, the Venturi entry and the tunnel should become a buffer zone in which the steady state equilibrium velocity of the air stream is maintained closer towards its theoretical maximum.

Consider the diagram as shown of Figure 1 6.

As the air stream approaches the turbine its velocity increases as the air space gradually reduces, with velocity going from A at the start to B at the turbine entry based on a theoretical assessment of speed.

In actual practice, the air flow will arrive at a steady state equilibrialised velocity somewhere between A and B, say with a value equivalent to C. Using techniques as described above, one would hope to get the equilibrialised velocity, C, closer to B than it would otherwise have been in the absence of such design features.

A precedent for the principle being put forward in respect of acquiring power by a moving body from the air of an air passage, is the Ram Jet Rocket. This Rocket has a propulsion system, which is very much reliant on its forward speed to produce what is termed a 'Ram effect', in order to collect and pressurise the air of the air passage through which it is travelling. This air is then used in the production of forward thrust by a special process of emission at the rear of the rocket, in conjunction with fuel injection and combustion.

A number of the principles involved are also present in hydro-electrical generation when a Pelton Wheel Turbine is employed. This process relies more on an induced pressurised water jet rather than simply a particular flow rate of water. Thus, for the same flow rate, a higher electrical output can be used if the water is induced, by restriction at its outlet, to have impingement velocity pressure as well as the static pressure of the basic head of water.

Such principles would particularly apply in some of the designs where it is suggested that small restricting vanes are placed in the air stream right at the point of entry to the turbine system in order to accelerate the air in the final stages.

Parallel principles are also present in the method proposed for accelerating the air in the air wind tunnel by means of the horizontal tear drop profiles.

It may also be beneficial to use tear drop profiles across the front of the car before entry into the Venturi, in order to help direct, concentrate and consolidate the air streams as they approach the Venturi, in a similar manner to the way water flow is directed sometimes in hydro-electrical generation.

Finally, as mentioned, in some of the Designs I have placed a row of very small profiles directly on entry into the turbines. These are to more sensitively direct the flow of air as it impinges onto the turbine impellers, as well as to accelerate the air in the final stage. This aspect is dealt with more fully in the later section which deals with turbine.

(b) Rear design, considering Designs 1, 2 and 3.

Apart from all of the frontal design features and all of those connected with the turbine design possibly the main other single feature that will aid the efficiency of energy conversion will be the exertion of rear suctional forces acting upon the exit to the turbine system.

Some of these forces are inherently present with any vehicle due to the suction force created in the rear slip stream. It is also intended to create additional suction, and it is hoped that the combined effect would be to ensure that the air stream velocity would be maintained very close to its theoretical maximum, and thereby the level of energy present in the air stream available for conversion into turbine rotational energy.

Firstly, it is intended to create a partial vacuum beneath the car by scooping the air away at the front of the car with a kind of a 'snow plough' device, as illustrated. The air removed by this action will form a part of that being directed towards the Venturi.

By removal of air at the front, very close to the ground, a fairly high level of partial vacuum will be created beneath the car. This is very much the same principle as the 'Skirt' idea that has been introduced recently into motor racing in order to give better road holding. This will be an added benefit in the car under consideration and will help to counteract the lift forces on the upper surfaces of the car due to the high degree of streamlining.

The effect of this partial vacuum will be to aid the extraction of air from the turbine system by its application at the rear most exit, where it will join forces with the rear slip stream suctional drag forces.

I have also included ducting arrangements in Designs 1, 2 and 3 (at this stage) between the turbine inter-zone and the underside of the car, in order to assist in the removal of air and to maximise the pressure difference across the primary turbine. In Design 1 and 2, as a further suctional aid to assist in the extraction of air from the inter-zone, I have incorporated a Venturi suction method in the upper surface of the car, using a ducting arrangement, as illustrated.

All of these processes operate in conjunction with the interaction between the primary and secondary turbines and are discussed in more detail later, in the following section dealing with the Turbine System.

The frontal scoop being so close to the ground may cause problems if there are bumps in the roadway. For this reason, it is therefore suggested that this unit should be a separate fixture, made of an appropriate narrow gauge light material, which can be lifted at the press of a button, via a hydraulic mechanism, to a point where it becomes level with the ret of the car's underside. For most driving, with the good condition of our road network, there would be no problem, but there would inevitably be occasions when an unexpected obstacle appeared in front of the car and quick operating retraction mechanism would be required. Obviously it would be ideal if this operated by means of an automatic sensing device.

The rear shaping of the car will have a large influence on how much of the slip stream drag forces can be applied in the region of the turbine exit, and it may be that the designs illustrated would not be the best in this respect. One may be able to create improvements with off-body aerofoils.

Experimentation would really be required to determine this aspect of the design.

These suctional forces are created because the air within these regions has been depleted. By allowing the suction forces to act upon the exit to the turbine unit, the depleted zones of air will be recharged with the air passing through the turbine system, and as a result of this, the overall negative drag forces acting upon the rear of the car body should be reduced. In a normal car these drag forces are a major contributory factor to the overall air resistance of a car. Because of this immediate replenishment of air in the rear slip stream void zone, and because of the high streamlined nature of the car body at the front, it is considered likely that the overall drag coefficient of the car being proposed could be somewhat less than a conventional car.

A similar principle is used to cut down drag forces in specially designed wings, which have a slot incorporated into them to allow air to pass through from the underside high pressure region to the upper, lower pressure, surface of the wing, where drag would otherwise be taking place due to the boundary layer breaking away.

Also, a similar idea is applied to another type of wing which is pressurised with air inside the wing, and this air is allowed to flow out through a slot on the upper surface of the wing to reduce the effect of drag caused by the breaking away of the boundary layer.

As mentioned previously, some use of aerofoil air deflectors set off the car body may be useful in helping to create and concentrate the suctional forces in the region of the ducts, and a further use for these would be to direct the air being emitted, so that maximum use is made of it to reduce the drag forces acting elsewhere upon the rear of the car body.

A final body design feature to mention at this stage is the slight upturn in the lower surface of the air stream tunnel at the point of entry to the primary turbine. This will help to direct the air upwards and impinge on the underside of the impellers, and it will also cause air stream acceleration in the last few stages before impacts, of course, will the row of small air stream directors. This will assist in increasing the level of kinetic energy imparted from the air stream to the impellers, and it may be that features such as this will create as much advantage as is gained by the induced pressurised water jets of a Pelton wheel hydro-turbine, for example.

5.2 Turbine design 5.2.1 Arrangement considerations It is a little difficult to know at this stage which type of turbine system, both in terms of design and arrangement, would give the most efficient energy conversion in the car being proposed.

In all of may designs so far I have opted for a dual turbine system and the advantages which I think may be gained from this type of arrangement are discussed below, and also later on in the section which deals specifically with the secondary turbine.

However, it may be found in practice that just a single turbine unit would be adequate.

In the dual system the principle idea would be to arrange for the secondary turbine to rotate faster than the primary by means of an appropriate interconnecting gearing ratio between the two turbines, and in this way arrange for the secondary turbine to have a higher air displacement capacity than the volume of air entering the primary turbine. The main advantages thought to be gained by this dual arrangement are as follows (discussed in relation to Design 3, which uses Radial flow turbines at both stages): 1) The more rapidly rotating secondary turbine will quickly transfer the air, after collision with the impellers, to the rear of the vehicle, and this will minimise any tendency for a pressure to build up, which would otherwise result in a slowing down of the air stream velocity.

2) This rapid displacement of air to the rear of the vehicle will more readily allow the depleted zone in the wake of the car to be replenished, thereby reducing drag forces better, which would otherwise be acting upon the car body at the rear.

One can see here the way in which the car's slip stream drag forces aid the car when they are allowed to act upon the impellers of the turbine, since the impellers can respond to the applied force, and thus their rotation is assisted, resulting in improved turbine efficiency; whereas these same drag forces acting upon a solid car body surface will, instead, just have the effect of increasing the car's overall air resistance to forward motion.

3) The rapid displacement of air from the region between the two turbines will create a higher pressure difference across the primary turbine than would otherwise have existed, and this will cause the air to flow faster through the primary turbine, thereby maintaining a higher level of kinetic energy. This low pressure could also exert a downward pulling force on the impellers of the primary turbine in the first quarter of its revolution.

4) One of the main principles of this dual turbine system is that it would be hoped that the interaction between the two turbine units, as described in 1) and 3) above, would create a self-sustaining action.

The primary turbine would first cause rotation of the secndary turbine, then the secondary turbine would, in turn, assist the rotation of the primary turbine in the way described, and so on, mutually assisting each other's rotation.

5) Another possible function for the secondary turbine, particularly in the case of Design 3, would be for it to capture the energy of the air stream that was not given up at the primary turbine stage. However, because the secondary unit is rotating at more revolutions per unit time than the primary turbine, capturing any energy of the air stream that managed to get by the primary turbine would more likely occur if this air, which would probably be mostly at the periphery, struck the impellers of the secondary unit in the central region of this turbine.

This is because the speeds at these respective points would be such that the air stream would be more likely to have a higher velocity than the angular velocity of the secondary turbine in its slowest central region. This, in fact, is probably what is more likely to happen, rather than vice versa, when little energy would be expected to be transferred.

Optimising for this effect would be one of the things to consider when positioning the turbine in relation to each other, and also when selecting a design for the impellers of the secondary unit.

Thus, these are some of the main principles involved in the dual turbine system, which it is believed would give rise to better overall efficiency in energy conversion over just a single primary turbine.

To a certain extent the idea is similar to that used in a Jet engine, but with the action working in the opposite direction.

The relative speeds of the primary and secondary turbines will probably be fairly critical, with optimum conditions probably changing with changing car speed.

Continuing the discussion in relation to Design 3: The pulling force, due to the low pressure region between the turbines acting upon the primary' turbine, as described in 3) above, could also exert a negative influence in the second quarter of the turbine's rotation by causing retardation after the impellers have rotated past the low pressure interconnecting region.

Therefore, in order to try to overcome this negative influence to rotation, a duct has been incorporated, connecting the partial vacuum beneath the car to a region lower down the primary turbine's rotation, in order to further extend the region of the downward pulling force. However, on passing through this duct region, a negative drag would again probably be exerted, but this arrangement is very much more flexible, in that it contains a number of variables, all of which can be slightly and sensitively altered. Therefore, it should be a fairly straightforward matter to find the optimum conditions which give the greatest advantage to the clockwise rotation of the primary turbine.

It would be hoped that most of these variables could be altered during driving in order to be able to set optimum conditions for a particular driving speed. Obviously it would be better if these alterations could occur automatically with changing car speed.

The two principal variables would be: 1) the relative speed ratio between the two turbines, and 2) the pulling force due to the partial vacuum beneath the car acting upon the downward stroke of the primary turbine by means of the ducting arrangement.

This latter variable could be sensitively altered by means of a sliding cover over the duct. It may be possible to achieve this automatically using a similar mechanism to an automatic choke.

Likewise, it may be possible to automatically change the relative speed ratio using an infinitely variable gearing system operating between the two turbines.

Obviously, it would require quite a lot of experimentation, at different speeds, to determine the optimum settings for the different variables involved.

Among the most recent innovations in cars are the computer devices which electronically control fuel injection in response to accelerator pedal changes. This does away with all the usual interconnecting linkages and more accurately controls the fuel input, giving an increase in fuel efficiency.

Thus, it may be possible to use similar devices for the two variables mentioned above, whereby one could include a computer which transmitted pre-programmed settings electronically to the variable mechanisms, in response to the speed of the car, these being continually monitored on the input side of the computer.

As previously mentioned, on the other side of the optimum balance for the relative speed ratio is the fact that if the secondary turbine was rotating too fast in relation to the primary turbine, then it would not be able to acquire any of the kinetic energy of the air stream which manages to escape at the primary turbine stage, and this would be another factor to consider.

The principal region for the application of the partial vacuum beneath the car is acting upon the main exit to the turbine system, where it joins forces with the rear slip stream drag forces.

Together these should exert an appreciable force, drawing the air through the system. This air is displaced immediately at the rear of the car where it will reduce the rear drag forces acting upon the car body at the rear.

Design trials would really be required in order to maximise concentration of the drawing force upon the turbine outlet and also to maximise the effectiveness of the expelled air in reducing the rear drag forces, as mentioned previously.

Another advantage of the dual turbine is that the drag forces acting upon the secondary turbine, with this type of air expulsion, should not contain any negative elements. One would not expect a negative influence on the underside of the impellers as they rotate upwards, since the abundance of air being issued should more than nullify any drag at this point.

However, if the secondary turbine was not present and the primary turbine was fully exposed to the drag forces then one would have fairly uncontrollable negative elements within the drag force reducing the overall net benefits of the suctional forces.

As already mentioned, however, rapid depletion of air between the two turbines could create negative drag acting upon the primary turbines.

This would obviously be eliminated if the air displacement ratio of the two turbines was 1:1.

However, under these conditions, because of the reduced air flow rate, one might start to get negative drag acting upon the secondary turbine.

Thus, when optimising the two relative speeds, one would be looking for this type of effect.

Under conditions of a 1:1 air displacement ratio, one would lose the advantages of the selfsustaining action, and this therefore would be another factor to bear in mind when optimising the speed ratio of the turbines.

It is, of course, very important to be aware of all of the various elements involved in this principle in order to be able to also make more accurate design adjustments when experimenting for the optimum basic design.

With just one single primary turbine the maximum drawing force that can be applied to the system is purely determined by the maximum force that can be obtained from external drag forces and the partial vacuum beneath the car. However, with the Dual System this is not just the case, and it would be hoped that appreciable advantage could be gained by having the secondary turbine displacing air at a speed fairly well in excess of the speed of air entry into the system. Under these conditions the drawing power being exerted across the primary turbine would be greater than could be obtained from the external forces, and, in addition to this, under such conditions, the external drag forces would be more effectively reduced by the air that was being issued out at the rear.

This really is the main principle behind the Dual System, and therefore just to elucidate a little more.

Under conditions when the air displacement capacity after the primary turbine stage is greater than the maximum theoretical air input to the turbine, one would be more likely to maintain the maximum theoretical air velocity, and also one would be more likely to be satisfying the depleted air zone in the slip stream of the car which gives rise to rear drag forces.

The turbine system may have to do more work under these conditions in order to displace the air, but the nett energy obtained would be more likely to approach the maximum attainable from the application of the rear drag forces. In addition, the energy savings in reducing rear drag forces would be more likely to approach the maximum-in relation to a system which just employed a single primary turbine, exposed at the rear, and taking what advantage it could of the rear drag forces, in a fairly uncontrollable and 'hit and miss' manner.

However, on the debit side, one may be increasing the negative element acting upon the primary turbine to a more significant level as air displacement capacity increases, even with the ducting arrangement to minimise this effect. This aspect makes a possible case for adopting circular types of primary turbines, and I discuss this later. However, with this latter type, the overall effect may be to lose more energy in the forward vector, because one would have to optimise between pitch angle and retardation of air stream velocity.

In Design 3 an alternative for the dual turbine arrangement could be as illustrated on Figure 17, (at this stage not particularly, considering impeller design). The advantage of this design over the arrangement, as given in Design 3, is that one may be applying the available drag forces to a greater extent. However, the negative component may also be higher and less controllable, which could result in the system being as good as that illustrated in Design 3, on balance. The main areas for this negative component are indicated by 1 and 2 on the drawing.

It is thought at this stage that Radial flow turbine designs, like the ones illustrated in Design 3, would have some advantages over Axial flow turbines in terms of: (i) a smoother passage of air and less air turbulence resulting in less wastage of energy; (ii) allowing more in terms of design refinement, which could extract more energy from the air stream; (iii) less energy wastage in vector components.

However, the negative drag aspect may override any of these benefits and rule them out for this application.

This negative element could largely be eliminated by using circular turbine designs, since their design is such that they operate fully exposed to the air stream forces, with all the forces being exerted similarly, no matter where they are applied to the turbine impellers.

Therefore, Designs One and Two are being put forward at this stage as possibly being better than Design Three. However, this could very well not be the case for the aforementioned reasons.

Both Designs 1 and 2 use Axial Flow turbines at the primary stage, and here, for both of these designs, the intention would be to use two identical turbine units standing side by side in the path of the air stream, in order to have the advantages of a full width air stream, as pre-determined and allowed by car size and shape. Whilst there are many possible designs for the impellers of this type of turbine, some of which are described later, it is thought that possibly a bladed aero propeller design would be the best from the aspect of efficient extraction of the air stream's kinetic energy of motion.

Thus, this is the type provisionally being suggested for use in Designs 1 and 2, although this is open to further ideas at this stage.

Design 1 also employs an Axial Flow turbine at the secondary stage.

Design 2, on the other hand, employs a Radial Flow turbine at the secondary stage. It is though that this would have the advantage of displacing the air to the rear of the vehicle in a smoother, less turbulent manner, with the consequence of minimising the work done in the displacement of the air, and also probably causing the air to be more effective in reducing the rear drag forces. With both these arrangements, one would again try to create the self-sustaining action by having the secondary turbine rotating fast enough to give a higher air displacement capacity than the volume of air entering the system.

In order to assist further in Designs 1 and 2 forformoval of the air, suction ducts have been incorporated into the design, both functioning to such air out of the interconnecting zone between the two turbines. One is connected to the partial vacuum beneath the car. The other is a ducting connected to the top surface of the car body to a position where a Venturi shape has been incorporated. The action of the air accelerating as its streams over this Venturi shape will cause a very low local pressure, which in turn will draw air through from the interconnecting zone.It is thought that the inclusion of this Venturi shape will add very little to the overall air resistance of the vehicle, in comparison to the extra drawing power that itwould exert across the primary turbines, since the very fact that it works at all depends on the boundary layer remaining intact. Under these latter conditions, there is very little air resistance and it is only in regions of air turbulence where air resistance is created to any great extent.

Thus, in this design there are three features assisting in the removal of air from the inter-turbine zone-all of which could be indpendently varied in order to give optimum conditions for a given driving speed, using similar techniques to the ways discussed previously.

The principal concept with the dual arrangement is that one is trying to remove air from the interturbine zone as quickly as possible in order to maximise the pressure difference across the primary turbine and to enable the rear slip stream zone to be quickly replenished with air, and thereby be more effective in reducing rear drag forces hopefully with as little expenditure of energy to detract from the benefits gained. In the latter respect, the suction ducting arrangements should add little to the overall energy requirements needed to propel the vehicle forward, and therefore the extra power these may give does not have to be paid for in terms of additional energy consumption.

This aspect in relation to the partial vacuum beneath the car, is dealt with more fully in Section 5.6.

The Radial Flow turbine at the secondary stage, as used in Design 2, may not be the best type to use, since a retardation force against its rotation could be built up in the inter-turbine zone as the depletion of air between the turbine increases. It may be that this effect would not be offset by the benefits gained.

Thus, Design 1 is suggested as an alternative which uses Axial Flow air extraction units at the secondary stage. Again two units are used side by side in order to facilitate uniform extraction of air across the full width of the air tunnel. With this type of design, because of the near vertical pitch of the impeller blades, there would be virtually no retardation force build up resulting from the lowering of pressure in the inter-turbine region, discussed later in Section 5.2.3.

Therefore, providing these units employed very friction free ball-bearing housings for their central shafts, they would corisume very little energy in displacing air. Any that was used up should be far outweighed by the benefits gained in the energy conversion efficiency of the primary turbines and by the energy savings due to the reduction in rear drag forces.

Thus, theoretically one could have these secondary units rotating very fast in relation to the amount of air entering the system, such that the inter-turbine zone was taken down to a very low pressure indeed, with enormous advantages being gained in terms of air velocity and energy conversion across the primary turbine. This aspect is discussed further in the section following, headed 'Secondary Turbine'.

The remainder of this section deals in a more general manner with possible turbine impeller designs, as opposed to turbine arrangements.

Inevitably, some of the points already dealt with are further discussed.

5.2.2 Primary turbine There is, in fact, a very wide choice for the possible design of the primary turbine and, as already indicated, these fall into two main categories: (i) Radial Turbine designs placed horizontally in the path of the air stream, as has been used in Design 3; (ii) Axial Flow designs placed vertically in the air stream, with the whole of it exposed to the full blast of the air stream, as used in Designs 1 and 2.

Within each of these two main categories there are a host of possible different designs and arrangements for the actual impellers of the turbines.

Axial Flow turbines Examples of possible Axial Flow designs are as follows: 1) A windmill type of design.

As already mentioned, this is the type possibly thought to be the best for this application under consideration, and aero blades are suggested, similar in design to an aircraft propeller.

It is thought that this design would be the most efficient in extracting the kinetic energy of motion of the air stream, since it's specially designed profile would take advantage of extra force benefits that could be gained from lift and torque components of teh air stream energy.

2) A ship's propeller type of design, with blade pitch optimised.

3) Air extraction fan type of design, again with blade pitch optimised for this particular application.

4) Aero jet engine type of turbine design.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the possibilities, especially when one considers some of the more futuristic car designs.

However, until the idea has gained acceptance and been proven under practical testing, I feel that the aforementioned suggestions are as far as one should go at this stage-although one is always open to further ideas, as with the whole of this concept.

Radial flow designs for the primary turbine These also lend themselves to taking advantage of induced lift forces through special wing profile designs for the impellers, and also for other design features aimed at acquiring more energy.

Considering the primary turbine of Design 4, in which a fairly straightforward wing design has been used for the impellers: Firstly, to assist in the application of lift forces, I have placed small fixed vanes across the air stream just prior to the turbine entry, in order to more sensitively direct the air flow and to give controlled optimum angle of attack as the wing impeller rotates upwards through the air stream.

Considering the various stages as one of the impellers goes through one revolution of the turbine: Stage 1-Figure 18 At point 1 one would try to create a lift force on the upper surface of the 'wing' due to lowering of local pressure caused by an increase in air stream velocity over the upper surface of the 'wing'.

In addition, this increase in the air stream velocity would impinge upon the next impeller at point 3, further adding to the impact force at that point.

Also, an increase in pressure would be starting to occur under the wing at point 2, assisting in the lift forces.

Stage 2-Figure 19 At this stage, one would try to again achieve increased air velocity over the 'wing' upper surface, giving some extra lift at point 4, but then the boundary layer would break away fairly rapidly, giving a drag effect behind the 'wing' at point 1, which should act as a pulling force on the back of the 'wing'.

The increase in the air velocity will again add to the dynamic pressure acting upon the next 'wing' at point 2.

Meanwhile, at point 3, the main force is occurring which is being added to a little by the effect of the 'wing' streamlining, as indicated.

Stage 3-Figure 20 Here, the full impact of the air stream would be being felt on the front of the 'wing' at point 1.

Behind the 'wing' at point 2 would be a low pressure zone acting as a force pulling the 'wing' around the downward section of the cycle. This force could be appreciably added to by the effect of a secondary turbine which had a greater air displacement capacity than the primary turbine.

This effect could prove to be quite an important aid to rotation.

Stage 4 Figure 21 In zone (a) there would be a comparatively low pressure which would enable a lower resistance to motion through this upward region, causing less drain on the angular momentum that the turbine acquires.

At point (b) I have included a small upturn air director, as indicated, which should have the effect of concentrating and accelerating over the last few inches before impact at point (c). On impact, a fast accelerating air stream would impart more energy than would an air stream at say a steady state velocity.

Therefore, the incorporation of such finer points in the design could make a substantial improvement in the energy conversion efficiency of the system.

A further design feature that may prove to be beneficial with this turbine would be to off-set the impellers so as to create a central void zone. In this way a high pressure vortex could build up, acting as a store of residual angular momentum energy which would help to maintain the rotation momentum, as shown on Figure 22. This illustrates the build up of a high pressure central vortex, A, spinning in the direction of the turbine, adding extra power behind the rotation.

This idea could possibly be combined with the incorporation of rear underside flaps on the wing impellers, as shown on Figure 23.

Such rear flaps can give improvements in the lift force exerted on the upper surface, as much as 1 00% increase in the power of the force. I have also illustrated fixed slats at the front which could also give a vast improvement in the lift force by sensitive manipulation of the air stream at the front of the wing impeller.

However, slats are normally a composite feature of the wing, and it may be that these impellers would benefit by having slats as a feature of the wing impellers themselves.

However, even in this case, one would still have to have the fixed slats in the air stream, just prior to its entering the turbine, in order to give the optimum angle of attack between airflow and wing impeller.

The angular positioning of these slats will change, as illustrated, in order to facilitate constancy in the optimum angle of attack as the impeller rotates upwards.

One would probably try to create these extra lift effects up to about half way through the air stream height, then one would leave it to the natural action of the air stream impinging into the wing impeller, when the main force would be the frontal impact anyway.

An entirely different impeller design could be as shown on Figure 24.

The principal features of this design are a) a higher impact surface area on each of the impellers.

b) the build up of a high pressure vortex in the central region which could retain far more angular momentum energy than the previous designs.

Or a similar design to the above, but with four impellers, as shown on Figure 25. With these types of designs one could also probably create some lift forces on the upper surfaces of the impellers, as with the wing type designs.

Selecting the best primary turbine for this application would ultimately have to be determined under practical testing.

The next section deals more fully with the types and function of the secondary turbine, and again both cylindrical and circular designs are discussed.

5.2.3 Secondary turbines Ideally, when the air stream collides with the impellers of the primary turbine it will pass on all of its energy of motion and come to rest. Work would then be required to remove that air from the system.

This work could be carried out in several ways: (i) By the rotating impellers pushing the air away-this would extract back some of the energy given to the impellers; (ii) By the follow-up air stream-this would reduce the energy content of the air stream that could be passed on to the impellers.

(iii) By the suctional drawing power of the underside partial vacuum and the rear drag forces.

This would be the principal function of these forces, and it would be hoped that they would make a very substantial contribution in this manner. As will be discussed later, the creation and existence of the partial vacuum does not require the consumption of any energy, and thus it provides this suctional force without energy having to be given away. The rear drag forces are present anyway, and, therefore, applying them in this manner is a way of obtaining something back from them.

(iv) The fourth way of removing the air is by means of the secondary turbine, and it is hoped that this turbine would operate in conjunction with the suctional force to remove the air as follows: As previously discussed, it is intended to arrange, through interconnecting gearing ratios, for the secondary turbine to rotate faster than the primary turbine and therefore have a higher air displacement capacity. This action would deplete the air in the region between the two turbines and create a drawing force on the primary turbine. In addition to this drawing effect, the pressure difference across the primary turbine will be increased and therefore incoming air will flow through the turbine at a faster rate.As indicated previously, it is hoped that this interaction between the two turbines will build up a self-sustaining action, with the primary turbine first causing the secondary turbine to rotate, then the secondary turbine increasing the flow of air.

Thus, this will increase primary turbine rotational energy, which will then increase secondary turbine rotation, and so on, until a higher power level is reached within the turbine rotational energy. In other words, by this interaction it is hoped that the induced air stream velocity entering the primary turbine will not be retarded back to a lower equilibrium velocity by the generator EMF, etc., as much as it would without the assistance of this action.

Therefore, more kinetic energy will be contained within the air stream and available for conversion into turbine rotational energy-keeping in mind that kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the velocity.

This equilibrium velocity state has been discussed previously in Section 5.1.2 under 'Frontal Design'. In order to obtain the maximum effect from the interaction between the two turbines, their relative speeds would have to be optimised.

Considering the following slicematic representation of the system.

High Pressure Air stream entering Turbine inter-turbine Rear External system Zone Suctional forces Primary Secondary Turbine Turbine The interaction between the two turbines and the rear drag forces in displacing the air through the system could be in two principal ways, both dependent upon the speed/air displacement capacity of the secondary turbine: (1) The pressure in the inter-zone could be at a level slightly higher than the external drag pressure, and under these conditions, this drag pressure would help to draw air from the secondary turbine, thus lowering the level of energy expenditure needed to displace the air by the turbine.

(2) Alternatively, and very probably better, one could arrange for the air displacement capacity of the secondary turbine to be higher than the volume of air entering the system, and in this way maximise the pressure difference across the primary turbine, and thereby maximise the amount of energy that could be extracted from the system. Under these conditions, the pressure in the inter-zone would probably be lower than the external drag pressure, and therefore additional work may have to be expended by the secondary turbine in pushing the air to the rear, rather than having it drawn out, as in the above case. However, on balance, the nett gains in the overall energy production could be appreciably better in this latter case.

Also, under the latter conditions, the displaced air would probably be more effective in saving the energy than would normally have to be expended in overcoming rear drag forces on the car body, this being another very important principle in the whole process.

Radial flow designs for the secondary turbine As previously mentioned, a possible further function of the secondary turbine, particularly in arrangements which use radial flow designs, would be to capture any energy contained in the air stream which escaped at the primary turbine stage.

Thus, on the one hand, only minimal contact is desirable from the point of view of not having to give back any energy to the air, but on the other hand, one would wish a reasonable degree of contact in order to capture any of the energy remaining in the air stream after the primary turbine. However, as has been discussed previously, this would only occur with air from the fast moving periphery of the primary turbine, escaping at this point, but then impacting into the secondary turbine in its slowest moving region, towards its centre.

Therefore, with all of the aforementioned factors in mind, the positioning and design as illustrated on Figure 26 is suggested as a possible starting point for Design 3.

Figure 26 Primary Turbine Position.

B-Secondary Turbine Design and Position.

Notes: 1 It is unlikely that a negative drag force would be exerted at 1, because of the abundance of air being issued forth from the turbine.

However, if so, conditions could be so controlled in order to minimise it to a negligible level.

2 Duct connected to the partial vacuum beneath the car to further extend the downward pulling force on the Primary impellers at 2.

Peripheral energy is more likely to escape from a Radial Flow turbine in comparison to an Axial Flow type. However, by using a design similar to that illustrated, it should be possible to pick up this energy at the secondary stage, and in this way for it to make a contribution to the overall rotational energy content of the turbine system.

Axial Flow secondary turbines Of the possible Axial Flow designs for the secondary turbine, there is really only one which would be entirely suitable for this application, and, as already indicated, this would be a design along the lines of an air extraction fan. The action of this design is to slice off a thin section of air with each revolution and displace it on the other side of the extraction unit. Thus, only a very small work vector would have to be done against any horizontal suctional pulling forces, and also the drag forces would largely draw the air from the unit rather than the extraction unit having to do work to push the air through and outwards.

Finally, having discussed the dual turbine system in some detail, it may well be that under trials a single primary turbine would prove to be perfectly satisfactory, particularly in designs where one is applying all the additional suctional arrangements acting on the turbine exit. At this stage it really is a question of considering all the possible ideas and selecting from them a starting point for practical trials. I personally feel that a dual system would be very worthwhile testing from the point of view of better efficiency being obtained by: 1) maintaining air stream velocity closer to maximum theoretical velocity; 2) creating'a higher pressure difference directly across the primary turbine; 3) more effective in reducing rear drag forces acting upon the car body.

5.3 Further discussion on the partial vacuum beneath the car Discussed in relation to Design 3.

Figure 27 gives an illustration of a car of Design 3 type, travelling forward through an Air Passage at say 50 mph, and this is discussed below: It is hoped to achieve a fairly high level of partial vacuum beneath the car, by means of the frontal section streamlining the air way, in order for this suction to then be applied to the turbine exists and in this way make a substantial contribution to the overall efficiency of the system. The principal way in which it would achieve this is by assisting towards maintaining the accelerated air stream velocity as it enters into the primary turbine system through its action of sucking the air through the system.

Thus, a higher level of kinetic energy of motion would be retained within the air stream, and hence a higher level of energy available for conversion into electrical energy.

The partial vacuum should be created without consuming any energy, which could result in a reduction in its nett contribution. Above the frontal section (in region 1 on the diagram) the air is being streamlined away very smoothly and rapidly. This fact acceleration over the surface will cause a low pressure on the upper surface which will partially overcome any resistance created to forward motion.

A projection of this type would normally create high drag forces at its rear. However, because in this case an abundance of air is issuing out at the rear, the drag forces behind the frontal section will not be felt as drag forces on the car as a whole, and therefore they will not increase the car's resistance to forward motion. It will simply be a suction force contained within the boundaries of the travelling car, totally separated, as far as the rear is concerned, from the rear external atmosphere, where the creation of the external drag forces acting upon the car takes place.

Another aspect of the partial vacuum is that it will be very beneficial in overcoming upper surface lift forces created by the high level of streamlining, since it will exert a strong downward vertical pull on the underside of the car.

Such a downward force will not add to the car's resistance to forward motion. In this respect the partial vacuum should in fact be beneficial, since the frictional drag forces on the underside of the car, between car body-air-ground, could be lowered, and also possibly the tyre to air frictional forces could be less.

A further benefit is that the additional air that is displaced at the front joints forces with that streaming towards the turbines, and this will combine to give a higher available energy content in the air stream.

Therefore all the benefits in energy efficiency, gained by application of the partial vacuum at the exit to the turbine system should be acquired without any energy expenditure to detract from the overall benefits gained.

5.4 Generator-some related design considerations The rotational energy acquired by the turbine system has to overcome the electro-motive forces set up within the generator as the power input is increased. The efficiency of this transference of power can be improved by optimising between the two variables, speed of generator rotation and size of generator, in order to determine the set of conditions which give a peak energy production for a given strength of power source.

One could carry out this optimisation at the speed the car is normally driven at, say a cruising speed of 50 mph.

However, at lower speeds the power source will be less and the generator may not be performing at its peak efficiency for the lower power source. The speed of generator rotation, as pre-determined by the gearing ratio between turbine and generator set for a car speed of 50 mph, could be lower at the lower car speed than was required to give maximum generator performance for the power source.

Therefore some form of variable gearing system between turbine and generator would probably be beneficial in order to facilitate higher speed ratios at lower car speeds, i.e. at a lower power source.

Adjusting this gearing ratio would be another useful function for an on-board computer.

The computer could be pre-programmed with the optimum gearing ratios over a wide range of car speeds and activate appropriate adjustments in response to the car speed being fed into the computer on the input side.

As far as the size of the generator is concerned, there may be a case for having the power transmitted to two or three small generators instead of one larger one. This is deiscussed further in Section 6.1 (b), in relation to Design 5 in which two separate air streams are used.

5.5 Battery system-some design considerations The batteries are present in order to perform two main functions: (a) to provide a store for over-produced electrical energy for use when the generator is under producing with high power required by the car, say when accelerating; (b) to provide a constancy in the rate of supply of electricity being transmitted to the electrical propulsion system.

These functions can be carried out simultaneously within the same battery bank. However, if the car undergoes a journey in which the overall energy usage is higher than the energy produced in that journey, for instance because of a very heavy load in unfavourable terrain, then there may be advantage gained by having an auxiliary spare battery bank, to be brought into use when the charge in the main battery store becomes low.

There is a gradual reduction in the efficiency of a battery as its charge gets lower, and by bringing in a fully charged battery into use at some stage during the journey, one would maintain a higher efficiency for a longer period in the journey.

This is illustrated on Figure 28, which shows a graph of Battery Efficiency against Battery Charge Reduction during the course of a journey.

The dotted line indicates the fall in efficiency that would have taken place had an auxiliary battery not taken over.

Point A is the point at which a change over to an auxiliary battery takes place.

As can be seen from these two curves, battery efficiency is maintained at a higher level for a longer period over the journey. This would mean that speed and power levels could be maintained for much longer during the journey with respect to the electrical propulsion system. However, at the end of the journey both systems would probably have to be topped up by similar amounts of charge from an external source in preparation for the next journey. Therefore, probably no gain in this respect, but the extension of higher efficiency levels, would be very beneficial during the journey, making the driving easier and giving the car greater compatibility with other road users.Here in lies one of the great advantages of the car being proposed, over current electrically propelled vehicles, in that the power being produced on the spot would normally always ensure the maintenance of speed and power levels, no matter how long the journey. Apart from the economic considerations.

As the calculations indicate in Section 6, is is believed that over the full length of most journeys sufficient energy would be produced to fully satisfy the power requirements of the car during the journey. However, there would obviously be exceptions to this equalising situation which would justify the incorporation of the auxiliary back-up battery.

Accommodation of the batteries within the car should be no problem these days, with recent advances being made in weight reduction, size compacting, and meeting the requirements of unusually shaped space facilities.

Monitoring of battery efficiency in relation to charge depletion could be another function of an onboard computer.

A further addition to the electrical system could be as follows: During periods when the generator(s) was producing more electricity than was required by the electric motors for propulsion, for instance during a cruising period, one could supply the electric motors directly with the electricity being produced by the generator and feed any surplus electricity into the batteries for storage using an appropriate electrical arrangement. In this way one may be able to significantly reduce energy losses through the battery system.

5.6 Materials The weight of a vehicle is a very important factor in the overall power requirements of the vehicle.

The car that I am proposing has an advantage over conventional petrol engine cars in this respect, since most of the component parts of the system can be manufactured from fairly light-weight materials. This is because they do not have to withstand the very high heat and pressures of an internal combustion engine. Thus, extensive use could be made of light-weight plastics for such components as the turbine impellers, and casings of batteries, generators and electric motors, etc.

Aluminium could also be used quite extensively, combining impact resistance with light-weight.

Fibre glass would also be a good material, possibly for use for the main shell of the car.

All the above materials are in common use for similar applications, and therefore it should be a fairly straight-forward matter to produce a first model, using an appropriate combination of the above materials.

As already indicated, Design 1 is being suggested as a possible design for a first prototype.

At this stage, a possible approach would be to acquire an appropriate conventional chassis, together with its steering system, and simply replace the drive system with a suitable electric motor installation, then build the superstructure to fit the chassis in accordance with Design 1, 2 or 3.

Fibre glass would be used for the main shell of the car, with possibly aluminium being used for the upper unit and for the turbine housings and ducts. Hopefully the turbine units and extraction fans could be obtained off the shelf for this first prototype.

Possibly a material and component cost for this first prototype would be somewhat in the region of 10,000.

For a material in the longer term I am of the opinion that the latest advances in the newly emerging range of very high impact resistant glass would be ideal for this application, not only for the car body, but also for many of the component parts, such as the turbine impellers.

In order to ensure good streamlining and for minimising friction drag, it is very important to have a very smooth body surface finish, and glass would possibly be the best material in this respect.

The high impact nature of the new glass materials now brings glass within the realm of car body application, and in the particular application being considered this property would also greatly overcome the problem of streamlined surfaces becoming impaired through surface blemishes.

Such a car body would also withstand everyday bumps and knocks far better than would current materials, either steel or ABS plastic.

A further advantage would be that the windscreen and other windows would automatically be made of this high impact glass, and therefore safety would be improved.

At the moment this type of glass is not being used extensively for windscreens on cost grounds.

However, were this glass to be used in large quantities for the mass production of entire car bodies, then its cost would obviously be reduced substantially, and even at this time it would probably be comparable in price with a steel body.

Another consideration is that the substances from which this type of glass is made are present on Earth in some abundance, in contrast to metals and oil related plastics which are over-used resources of the Earth.

This glass might also facilitate better colouring methods, with internal pigmentation rather than an external paint finish. However, a paint finish would be perfectly satisfactory, without impairing the quality of surface finish, if internal pigmentation proved impracticable, say possibly due to lack of sufficient heat stability.

Obviously, if the latter method was possible, then there would be the advantages gained in diminishing the effect of scratches from the point of view of appearance.

In addition to all of the above benefits, it is a comparatively light-weight material with high structural strength, having a density approximately one third that of steel.

Thus, all of these factors, in my view, add up to this material being a very serious consideration for use, not only in the particular application under consideration here, but also for car bodies in general, and possibly even applications such as coaches and trains.

The following news report gives some support to may views concerning this type of glass: Newspaper article Quote: 'Now, Car Engines of Glass'. Glass car engines giving 100 miles to the gallon are being developed in Japan. The NGK Company, who make sparking plugs, have already produced a 50 c.c.

motor-cycle engine in silicon nitride-basically glass. It is running now. The next step is a car-size scaled-up glass engine with cylinders, head, crankcase, crankshaft and pistons, all made up of ceramics, a substance similar to the glazing on bathroom tiles and kitchen sinks. The weight is cut by half compared with a conventional metal, car or motor-cycie, engine-and this means extra fuel economy. But there is another plus: a glass-ceramic engine need never wear out.

Another Company, Kurasaki Refractories, has developed a new silicon-glass-material said to withstand sudden temperature changes better than steel. Yet with a third of the density of steel, it is lighter in weight and cheaper to produce-and it could be longer lasting.

At leusu-who are linked with General Motors, parent company of Vauxhall and Opel--engineers working with Kyato Ceramics are developing an all ceramic-glass two-litre diesel engine. End Quote.

A further advantage of these materials would probably be in the ease and cost of recycling car bodies for further use, and a main advantage would, of course, be the inherent long life of cars made from such materials.

6 Verification of the feasibility of the idea by calculation 6.1 Calculation to determine the amount of energy produced by the turbine system (a) For the purposes of this first calculation, I have considered the conditions of a vehicle, as given in Design Three.

As discussed in Section 4, when describing the Venturi effect, no significant air compression takes place on streamlining air and causing it to pass through from a broad section into a narrower section. Instead, the velocity of the air increases to compensate for the reduction in space, in accordance with Bernoulli's Law.

Theoretically, therefore, this increase in velocity should be inversely proportional to the crosssectional areas of the sections through which the air is flowing.

For the purposes of this calculation, I will use a vehicle speed of 50 mph, this being a normal cruishing speed for road transport. This is approximately equal to 75 fps (feet/sec). Therefore, if one assumes that the car is travelling through a fairly still atmosphere, then there will be a relative air wind speed at the front of the car of 75 fps (i.e. equal to the speed of the vehicle) confronting the forward moving vehicle.

The cross-sectional area at the front of the car, i.e. the start of the air stream tunnel is approximately equal to 32 2 square feet (6- ftx5 ft). -Figure 29.

This cross-sectional area gradually decreases as the air streams through towards the rear of the car until at the point of entry to the Primary Turbine the cross-sectional area is equal to: 1 + ftx3 fit=42 square feet Therefore the theoretical speech of the air as it enters the turbine system is equal to: 32- 75 fpsx =540 fps 42 However, there are a number of reasons why the air stream velocity will probably not reach the full theoretical speed: (1) In reality, there will probably be a Maxwell-Boltzmann type of velocity distribution of the air molecules over the cross-section of the air stream, both in the vertical and horizontal directions, due to frictional surface drag.Hopefully, however, the boundary layers on all of the surfaces which make up the air stream tunnel will remain relatively intact, given a suitable surface finish. This being the case, then the air streams will reach maximum velocity (for a given cross-section) fairly close to the surfaces of the tunnel.

However, to make allowance for this effect, I will reduce theoretical air speed by 5%.

(2) On impact of the air stream with the impellers of the turbine, air molecules will pass on their acquired kinetic energy of the motion to the impellers, causing them to rotate about the axis of the turbine.

Once this rotation has been set in motion, then the turbine will contain a certain amount of momentum energy which will contribute towards sustaining the rotation of the turbine.

Therefore, the total amount of energy now present in the system will be that due to the kinetic energy of motion of the air stream plus the acquired momentum energy of the turbine.

Unfortunately, we are not dealing here with a totally elastic collision because of the back EMF of the generator and the mechanical frictional forces.

This means that the rotation of the turbine will be under a restraint and will not be able to give a free response to the impact of the collision. This will have a slowing down effect on the speed of rotation, compared with theoretical speed, which in turn will have some slowing down effect on the velocity of the air stream.

However, the accumulative effect of the design feature, mentioned in Section 5, should help significantly to overcome retardation effects.

A summary of these design features are given below.

They are taken from all the car designs suggested and do not all apply to any one single car design, although Designs 1, 2 and 3 contain most of the more important ones.

1 The suctional power acting upon the exits to the turbines by: a the partial vacuum beneath the car; b the rear slip stream forces; c the secondary turbine assisting in the application of the above; d the upper surface Venturi suction force.

Probably the overall accumulative effect of all of these suction forces would be equal to that which would be obtained from the volume of the displaced air at a pressure, P, the low local pressure in the other half of the Bernoulli's equation, i.e.

P in P+2pV2=C (+pV2 being the increased dynamic pressure of the air stream entering the turbine system) Although the point must be made that they are not, in fact, two halves of the same equation, they nonetheless should approach similar orders as though they were.

2 The special design features in the air stream tunnel, i.e a Venturi shaped entry, causing rapid air acceleration on entry into the final approach; b the tear drop profiles in the air tunnel to sustain this air acceleration and act as one way valve systems; c the design features causing air acceleration right at the point of entry into the primary tunnel.

3 The special impeller design features, e.g.

a creation of lift forces; b creation of residual rotational energy is the central region.

4 Car body surface finish, this being very streamlined and smooth in order to maintain the boundary layer as much as possible.

5 Optimisation of the generator speed, in relation to the strength of the variable power source, by means of interconnecting variable gearing.

6 The minimising of all the rotational mechanical frictional forces connected with the energy production process by using ball bearing shaft housings and light oil drip feeds.

However, in spite of these design features, there will be some retardation of the air stream velocity and therefore I will make a very generous allowance of a further 25% reduction in the theoretical air stream velocity as it enters the turbines.

In addition to this, I will not include the acquired momentum energy of the turbine in the calculations.

Therefore, for the purposes of this calculation, I propose to use an air stream velocity of 385 fps, this being 1 55 fps less than the theoretical of 540 fps.

Just to reiterate, this represents the velocity of the air stream at the point it impacts into the impellers of the turbine, after reaching a steady state equilibrium flow rate, at a car cruising speed of 50 mph, having made full allowances for retardation factors.

The velocity of the air stream is govenered by the Bernoulli's Law, i.e.

P + zpV2=Constant (where P is the local low pressure created by the air stream on the body surfaces, p is the density of air, V is the velocity of the air stream).

The expression ' 2pV2' represents the increased dynamic pressure of the air stream due to its increased velocity, and quantifies the kinetic energy, E, of the air stream.

Thus E=2pV2.

This is the same as the expression 'E=2 mv2', which quantifies the kinetic energy of any moving body, but in the case here, related to air. With mass, m, being replaced with the density of air, p.

For the purposes of this calculation, I will use an air density of 0.08 Ibs per cubic feet.

Thus, the kinetic energy of motion of the air stream will be as follows: E=+x0.08x385x385 =5929 Ft Ibs/square Ft/sec Therefore, the total force acting upon the impellers at the point of impact will be the above kinetic energyxthe cross-sectional area of the air stream tunnel at the point of entry into the turbine, i.e.

E total=5929x42 =26680 Ft Ibs/sec Since it is more familiar to express energy in terms of Horse Power when referring to a car, I will convert as follows: 26680 EHP= 50 HP 540 If we assume that the turbine system has an energy conversion efficiency of 66%, then the amount of energy being transferred to the battery storage system will be equivalent to 33 Horse Power (b) Two turbine systems in Design Five Briefly, the calculation for the two turbine design, as illustrated in Design Five, is as follows.

In this case, the entries to the turbine systems both have a cross-sectional area of 3 feetx0.75 feet=2.25 square feet (1) Upper unit 17.5 Theoretical air stream velocity = -- x75 fps 2.25 = 583 fps Velocity after a 5% and a 25% reduction correction = 415 fps +x0.08x41 5x41 5x2.25 Therefore, EHP = 540 < 29 HP -assuming a 66% energy conversion, the turbine produces 19 HP (2) Lower unit 15 Theoretical air stream velocity = @ x75 fps 2.25 =500fps Velocity after a 5% and a 25% reduction correction = 356 fps +xO.08x356x356x225 Therefore EHP = 540 =21 HP -assuming a 66% energy conversion, this turbine produces 14 HP Therefore, the combined energy production of the two turbines is equivalent to 33 HP This is the same as the single turbine system, but in practice it could possibly prove to be better since the smaller sized generators of the dual system will have a lower back EMF than the larger turbine, and therefore they may not slow down the velocity of the two air streams as much. This being the case, then higher impingement velocities could probably have been used in the calculations, with perhaps a 20% reduction instead of the 25% allowance.

With this correction, the energy produced is as follows: Upper unit 22 HP Lower unit 16 HP Combined Energy 38 HP (c) Axial Flow turbine systems In carrying out these calculations, it has appeared that an impact surface area of about 4.5 square feet is about the optimum area.

This would apply equally to Axial Flow turbine impellers as well as to the horizontal impellers of a Radial Flow turbine.

Thus, in a case where two Axial Flow turbines are standing side by side in the air stream, the optimum diameter of the turbines would be 1.7 feet.

In the case where one turbine might be used, then its diameter would be about 2.4 feet.

In both of the above cases, with the same 4.5 square footage of impact surface area, then the energy in the air stream at the point of impact will be as previously calculated in the case of the drum shaped turbine, i.e.

50 HP If these turbines have a 66% conversion efficiency, then the electrical energy produced would be 33 HP, as estimated for the Radial turbines. However, it is possible that these Axial turbines might give a higher energy conversion than 66%.

On the other hand, in order to acquire the maximum efficiency from the Axial turbines, the pitch angle of the turbine impellers may be such that they will lower the strength of the power source by knocking back the air stream velocity.

Therefore, one would have to optimise between this effect and the optimum angle for energy conversion, and it may be that the nett effect would be that Axial turbines were less effective than the drum shaped type for energy production.

6.2 Calculation to estimate drag forces acting upon the vehicle The drag forces for this are a little difficult to estimate at this stage without the benefit of practical experience with this car. However, I will endeavour to make some estimates, as follows, bearing in mind that it is believed that this car would, in fact, have less air resistance to forward motion than a normal car for reasons that will be further discussed.

Drag forces are the restraints placed on a vehicle to its forward motion by the air passage. The resistance has two components: (1) form drag, which is dependent upon the ease with which a vehicle can displace air with its shape, and (2) friction drag, which is dependent upon the car body to air surface frictional forces. This is very sensitive to the smoothness of the surface finish of the car body.

The combined drag forces can be estimated using the following equation: CdxAxV3 Drag HP= 146,600 (where Cd=Drag co-efficient of the vehicle A=Cross-section of the car body at the maximum point, in square feet V=The speed of the vehicle in MPH) At the extremes, the drag co-efficient of a vertical plate at right angles to direction of travel is equal to about 1.2, whereas for a perfectly streamlined 'tear-drop' shape the drag co-efficient can be as low as 0.03.

A normal saloon car has a drag coefficient of 0.5 and the latest streamlined models are approaching 0.35.

The way I propose to estimate the drag forces on the vehicle under consideration here, as shown in Design One, is to first calculate the drag forces on the very worst case of a moving body with the dimensions of this vehicle, and then apply a knowledgeable correction, having regard to the design features of the actual vehicle under consideration here.

Thus, the worst case would be to use a drag co-efficient that applied to a shear vertical surface at the front of the vehicle confronting the air passage, i.e. CD=1.2, with a surface area of 32.5 square feet in our case. This would represent a moving body with no streamlining features whatsoever to help in the displacement of air.

Thus, 1.2x32.5x50x56 Total Drag HP= 146,600 =33 HP It is interesting to note that this figure is exactly equal to the amount of energy that was calculated to be produced t I::: the turbine. One might expect this to be the case, hence giving support to the previous calculation, since in effect this air resistance value does represent some indication of the amount of available energy contained in the air bounded by the 32.5 square feet at the front of the vehicle, albeit reduced by a number of factors.

Thus, in this case, one would be producing sufficient energy to overcome the air resistance of the vehicle, but one would have to add additional energy to overcome mechanical and tyre frictional forces, etc.

However, in the actual vehicle under consideration here we, of course, are not dealing with a solid vertical surface at right angles to forward motion. Rather we have a highly streamlined car body with the displaced air streamlining through the vehicle and being allowed to pass through and emerge out at the rear of the vehicle, hopefully with as little impedance to its overall flow rate as possible.

The turbine system will obviously cause some resistance to flow rate, and in the previous calculations I allowed for a 25% retardation of the overall air stream flow rate.

As soon as the turbine rotates at all, air passes through and out at the rear of the vehicle, and therefore the resistance to forward motion due to the air is beginning to decrease compared with the case where one has a solid vertical front which has to expend a lot of energy in pushing the air aside.

I estimate that the turbine should be rotating at about 50-80 revolutions/sec at the cruising speed of the car, i.e. 50 mph. This represents a high air displacement capacity, and therefore the overall air resistance to forward motion will be appreciably lower than would be the case with a solid front having no outlet through which the air passage can pass.

Therefore, probably a very fair estimate would be to make a 50% reduction in the air resistance of the air turbine car, compared with a car which has a solid vertical front.

However, in practice one might expect this turbine car to have a lower air resistance than is represented by the above value.

This is because the turbine car would also have very much lower drag forces acting upon its rear body, since the air is being displaced into the rear region which will have a very significant effect in reducing rear drag forces.

Therefore, not only would one expect to have improved frontal resistance to forward motion, but also for air resistance to be very much improved at the rear.

If all the principles being applied were to operate fully 100% effectively, then the only drag forces on the car would be those due to surface air friction, which, because of the streamlined nature of the car and the very smooth surface finish, would be very low indeed compared with the drag co-efficients normally obtained with road vehicles-say around 0.5.

However, not withstanding the above comments, I will use a drag co-efficient for the turbine car of 0.6, this representing 50% of the value of a car which has a solid vertical front, having no streamlining features.

Therefore, using this value, the energy expenditure due to the air resistance of the turbine car would be equal to 16.5 HP The following table summarises all of the results obtained and will assist for ease of reference in the further discussions that follow.

Summarisation of the results Actual air Kinetic Energy Energy Relative air Theoretical stream energy of remaining remaining Wind speed at air stream velcity motion of Energy Estimated to as a the speed at velocity at used after the air conversion air overcome % age of the vehicle entry to correction stream on to electrical reistance forces total effected by turbine due for entering power to forwerd other than electrical Car the speed of to air retardation the turbine assuming 66% motion of air energy design the vehicle streamlining factors system efficiency the car resistance produced Single with air stream correction system of 5% + 25% e.g. as one design 75 fps 540 fps 385 fps 50 HP 33 HP 16.5 HP 16.5 Hp 50% Two Upper unit with turbine corrections system of 5% + 25% i.e.

design 75 fps 583 fps 415 fps 29 HP 19 HP Although not estimated for this five Lower unit design the values should be about 75 fps 500 fps 356 fps 21 HP 14 HP as above, i.e.

Combined results:- 50 HP 33 HP 16.5 HP 16.5 HP 50% with corrections As above of 5% + 20% Upper unit 583 fps 442 fps 33 HP 22 HP Lower unit 500 fps 380 fps 24 HP 16 HP Combined. 57 HP 38 HP 16.5 HP 21.5 HP 56.6% 6.4 Further discussion of results For a conventional car, over the full length of a journey, about half of the energy is consumed in overcoming air resistance and half for other power requirements of the car, i.e. mechanical friction forces, tyre to road friction, acceleration and maintaining speed.

One would expect the turbine car to use up energy for the latter functions at about the same rate as a conventional car.

Modern saloon cars are given the familiar Horse Power rating, and for most cars this is about 50 HP.

This rating gives an indication of the maximum power achievable by the car during say a fast acceleration move, or for steep gradient work, or with a very heavy load on board.

At a normal cruising speed in relatively flat terrain, the power being expended by the car is substantially less than the above rating, possibly in the region of 20 Horse Power.

In fact, it is worth commenting here that one of the latest innovations on the new breed of aerodynamic shaped cars is to incorporate a device which disconnects the engine intermittently, relying solely on the acquired momentum energy of the vehicle for forward propulsion, resulting in a very substantial saving in power requirements.

This, therefore, demonstrates the very low rate of power input that is sometimes required by a car during its journey. It is the same effect as one experiences on a child's scooter when, after having built up the speed with high energy input, then it only requires an intermittent input of a relatively small amount of power in order to maintain the speed. In this particular example the person on the scooter represents a large proportion of the mass involved with the acquired momentum energy of the scooter.

Similarly, this would be the same in the case of a car, but not to the same extend.

The turbine car that is being proposed would produce energy at the rate of 33 HP/sec at a cruishing speed of 50 mph, in accordance with the calculations.

Assuming we can compare with a normal car, then this level of energy produciton would be about 10-1 5 HP more than the car was consuming at the cruising speed of 50 mph.

Thus, during cruising 10--15 HP would be being supplied to the batteries purely for storage, for use when the power requirements of the car was in excess of that being produced by the turbine.

One would hope that over the full length of a journey the total power produced en route would totally satisfy the demands of the overall power requirement of the car during the journey.

If this proved to be the case, as seems likely, then this in my opinion would represent an exceptionally important innovation, particularly at this time when oil is running out; petrol and energy costs are soaring; and pollution is becoming intolerable to society.

Hence, the length of my report in order to try to establish the concept.

7. G A Drawing notes Some additional extracted general notes on the following G.A. Diagrams Section, related to Design One:- A-In this region the airstream is split, streamlined and channelled into two separate streams in the final approach to the Axial Turbines.

B-Two Axial, windmill type, Turbines standing side by side facing the two halves of the split air stream.

C-Two air extraction fans standing side by side, which, through the inter connecting gearing, are arranged to assist removal of the air at an optimised rate.

D-Air Suctional Ducting arrangements.

E-Partial Vacuum beneath the car created by the frontal scoop.

(See relevant text for fuller explanations of the systems).

Claims (Filed on 19th Jan 83r 1. The invention is a method producing electrical power in situ for use in the propelling of a moving vehicle through an air passage.

The electrical power is produced by first capturing as much as possible of the air in the moving vehicle's air passage at the front of the vehicle, then streamlining and channelling the air towards the rear of the vehicle, and into a relatively small cross-sectional area, achieved by appropriate design of the vehicle body. In this way the whole of the air in the moving vehicle's air passage is collected, streamlined and accelerated to a relatively high velocity compared with that of the moving vehicle.

The accelerated air will then contain an increased level of energy, sufficient to provide all the power, or most of the power, for all the drains on the vehicle's power consumption.

The energy of the accelerated air stream is harnessed by means of placing an air turbine system appropriately positioned in the path of the streamlined air, towards the rear of the vehicle. A generator is connected to the air turbine effecting conversion of the mechanical turbine rotational energy into electrical power. The electrical power so produced is fed to an electric motor system which propel is the vehicle. The electricity can be fed to the electric motor, either directly or, via a battery storage system, dependant upon the power output to power input ratio. (See the General Arrangement Diagrams for possible designs of a road vehicle). This general claim is concerned with the process of generating the

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. 6.4 Further discussion of results For a conventional car, over the full length of a journey, about half of the energy is consumed in overcoming air resistance and half for other power requirements of the car, i.e. mechanical friction forces, tyre to road friction, acceleration and maintaining speed. One would expect the turbine car to use up energy for the latter functions at about the same rate as a conventional car. Modern saloon cars are given the familiar Horse Power rating, and for most cars this is about 50 HP. This rating gives an indication of the maximum power achievable by the car during say a fast acceleration move, or for steep gradient work, or with a very heavy load on board. At a normal cruising speed in relatively flat terrain, the power being expended by the car is substantially less than the above rating, possibly in the region of 20 Horse Power. In fact, it is worth commenting here that one of the latest innovations on the new breed of aerodynamic shaped cars is to incorporate a device which disconnects the engine intermittently, relying solely on the acquired momentum energy of the vehicle for forward propulsion, resulting in a very substantial saving in power requirements. This, therefore, demonstrates the very low rate of power input that is sometimes required by a car during its journey. It is the same effect as one experiences on a child's scooter when, after having built up the speed with high energy input, then it only requires an intermittent input of a relatively small amount of power in order to maintain the speed. In this particular example the person on the scooter represents a large proportion of the mass involved with the acquired momentum energy of the scooter. Similarly, this would be the same in the case of a car, but not to the same extend. The turbine car that is being proposed would produce energy at the rate of 33 HP/sec at a cruishing speed of 50 mph, in accordance with the calculations. Assuming we can compare with a normal car, then this level of energy produciton would be about 10-1 5 HP more than the car was consuming at the cruising speed of 50 mph. Thus, during cruising 10--15 HP would be being supplied to the batteries purely for storage, for use when the power requirements of the car was in excess of that being produced by the turbine. One would hope that over the full length of a journey the total power produced en route would totally satisfy the demands of the overall power requirement of the car during the journey. If this proved to be the case, as seems likely, then this in my opinion would represent an exceptionally important innovation, particularly at this time when oil is running out; petrol and energy costs are soaring; and pollution is becoming intolerable to society. Hence, the length of my report in order to try to establish the concept. 7. G A Drawing notes Some additional extracted general notes on the following G.A. Diagrams Section, related to Design One:- A-In this region the airstream is split, streamlined and channelled into two separate streams in the final approach to the Axial Turbines. B-Two Axial, windmill type, Turbines standing side by side facing the two halves of the split air stream. C-Two air extraction fans standing side by side, which, through the inter connecting gearing, are arranged to assist removal of the air at an optimised rate. D-Air Suctional Ducting arrangements. E-Partial Vacuum beneath the car created by the frontal scoop. (See relevant text for fuller explanations of the systems). Claims (Filed on 19th Jan 83r 1. The invention is a method producing electrical power in situ for use in the propelling of a moving vehicle through an air passage. The electrical power is produced by first capturing as much as possible of the air in the moving vehicle's air passage at the front of the vehicle, then streamlining and channelling the air towards the rear of the vehicle, and into a relatively small cross-sectional area, achieved by appropriate design of the vehicle body. In this way the whole of the air in the moving vehicle's air passage is collected, streamlined and accelerated to a relatively high velocity compared with that of the moving vehicle. The accelerated air will then contain an increased level of energy, sufficient to provide all the power, or most of the power, for all the drains on the vehicle's power consumption. The energy of the accelerated air stream is harnessed by means of placing an air turbine system appropriately positioned in the path of the streamlined air, towards the rear of the vehicle. A generator is connected to the air turbine effecting conversion of the mechanical turbine rotational energy into electrical power. The electrical power so produced is fed to an electric motor system which propel is the vehicle. The electricity can be fed to the electric motor, either directly or, via a battery storage system, dependant upon the power output to power input ratio. (See the General Arrangement Diagrams for possible designs of a road vehicle). This general claim is concerned with the process of generating the power, which can be applied to any moving vehicle travelling through air, rather than to the use of power so produced by the electric motor system. The distinguishing features of the invention are as follows,-which will also serve to give a better understanding of the inventive concept: Unlike normal generation of electricity by wind power which requires a naturally produced flow of air from a natural high pressure to a low pressure region, this method of electrical power generation can take place when the vehicle is moving through air which would otherwise be still, containing no variations of pressure to produce a wind. The air turbine rotation being effected by the action of the accelerated streamlined air, induced by the forward motion of the specially designed vehicle. The collecting of all the air in the vehicle air passage, then streamlining and channelling the air through into a smaller cross-sectionai area, at entry to the air turbine system, is a necessary feature of the process and distinguishes this process from other possible inventions where a turbine or windmill device may be mounted on a vehicle for the purposes of producing some electrical power from any potential energy that may be harnessable simply due to the relative motion of the vehicle to the surrounding air. Such a device would not produce a nett gain in energy, with drag forces being created equal to whatever small fraction of electrical power may be created by this means.Therefore, such a process would obviously bear no comparison to the very much more complex process of accelerating a maximised quantity of air by special shaping of the vehicles body in order to first increase its energy content before harnessing the energy. In effect in this process the energy of the moving vehicle is first given to the surrounding air in the vehicle's air passage and this energy is then given back to the vehicle via the air turbine system, all taking place in situ whilst the vehicle is travelling forward. This process of energy transference is apparent from a consideration of the Bernoulli's theorem, as applied to the streamlining of air by a moving body passing through an air passage. This theorem states that P+2pv2=constant Where P is the static pressure of the air stream and Tpv2 is the air stream's dynamic pressure, or forward kinetic energy of motion. p is the density of air. The higher the level of streamlining achieved, and the smaller the cross sectional area achievable at entry into the turbine system, the greater will be the acceleration of the streamlined air and the higher will be its velocity on entry into the air turbine system. Since the dynamic pressure is related to the square of the air velocity, rather than directly to the velocity, then a higher dynamic pressure can be obtained from a given volume of air in the air passage, the higher the velocity of accelerating air. The higher the dynamic air pressure that can be induced by streamlining and channelling the air, in the manner described, then the higher the level of forward kinetic energy of motion induced into a given volume of air and the more the turbine rotational energy that can be obtained from the given volume of air.Thus by collecting, streamlining and channelling as much air as possible from the air passage through which the vehicle is moving, and then by passing the streamlined air through an optimised minimum cross-sectional area at entry to the air turbine system, the quantity of air for providing energy will be maximised and the acceleration of the air will be maximised, and therefore, its relative forward kinetic energy content will be maximised and substantially increased.The accelerated air will then contain sufficient energy to not only provide power for the resistance to forward movement of the vehicle through its air passage due to form drag-this being the energy that one might expect to be obtained from some other process where no streamlining and channelling into a small cross-sectional area took place,-but also sufficient energy to provide for all the other drains on power consumption, such as frictional drag and mechanical friction etc. Whilst in some other process form drag and frictional drag forces would probably negate the power produced, in this process a further distinctive feature is that the vehicle body design and shaping will be such that suctional forces due to form drag will be concentrated as much as possible on the exhaust side of the air turbine rather than being applied to the body of the moving vehicle. In this way, therefore, the drag forces will make a contribution to the power production, rather than add to the power requirements of the vehicle. See also additional claim 1 A. Another distinguishing feature of the process is the fact that, at times, the electricity being produced could possibly be fed directly to the electric motor system, by-passing the battery storage system, but with any excess energy being stored in batteries. This would be at times when the power requirements of the vehicle were less than the power being produced by the turbine/generator system, e.g. during cruising or travelling downhill. The stored excess energy during these times would then be available to draw on when the vehicle required more power than was being generated, e.g. going up hill. Thus in this way one would save on energy losses that may occur in passing the electricity through a battery storage system. Dual air turbine system The process discussed in the general claim could probably function with a number of different air turbine systems, as stated in the specification request, but a particular system which I wish to claim is as follows, (more fully described in the request specification). This air turbine arrangement comprises a dual system of turbines in which a secondary turbine, also functioning as an air extractor fan, is placed after the primary turbine in the path of the streamlined air. The two turbines would be connected by a suitable arrangement and gearing system. This gearing would be such that when the first primary turbine was caused to rotate by the impact of the air stream the second turbine/extraction fan would be caused to rotate somewhat faster and have a higher air displacement capacity than the air passing through the primary turbine. The secondary turbine would have two functions (i) capturing any dynamic pressure remaining in the air stream after passage through the air turbine, and (ii) acting as an extraction fan to give rapid displacement of the air to the rear of the vehicle for the removal of drag forces that may otherwise be acting on the body of the moving vehicle. Thus, the main inventive concept here being that the suctional drag forces, always associated with a moving vehicle, would by this means in effect all be transferred to the exhaust from the primary turbine, where they will enhance the power production, and away from acting on the body of the moving vehicle, when some would add to the power requirements of the vehicle. For the secondary turbine to perform both these functions, design and relative speed of the turbines will be critical. This dual arrangement of turbines would also contain inherently within the system a self sustaining action, once the rotational momentum energy of the turbines has been established, due to the slightly higher suctional action of the secondary turbine on the primary turbine. New claims or amendments to claims filed on 24.11.83. Superseded claims 1, 1A. New or amended claims:

1. An air and electrical power propulsion system, applicable to either a road or rail vehicle, in which the basis of the main system involved is:- (i) The inducement of a maximised quantity of forward kinetic energy into a maximised quantity of the air of the said vehicle's air passage using a said vehicle, which could be of a variety of shapes, such as to cause maximised air displacement and creating the said forward kinetic energy by means of a high degree of air streamlining, principally by the design shaping of the said vehicle. Then to convert the said kinetic energy so induced into electrical energy by means of an air turbine system with connected generator, suitably positioned in the said vehicle for use then in powering the said vehicle.The said air turbine system being generally positioned as far as practically possible to the rear of the said vehicle in order to facilitate for maximum streamlining effect, and said forward kinetic energy inducement into the air and the said generator being positioned and connected to the said air turbine system so as not to be in the pathway of the said air stream flow through the said vehicle. The electrical energy produced by the said air turbine and generator system in the main being fed to an on-board battery storage system, from where the electrical energy is supplied to the said electric motor system.On occasions though being fed directly to the said electric motor system. (ii) The application of the said moving vehicles associated rear drag forces onto the rear of the said air turbine system at a maximised level in order to then increase upon the potential for energy extraction from the said air stream flow, mainly by virtue of effecting an increase in the pressure drop across the appropriate stage of the said air turbine system. (iii) The minimisation of the said rear drag forces acting upon the rear body of the said vehicle by virtue of rapid replenishment of said vehicle's wake zone with the said air flow exiting from the said air turbine system. Thereby, increasing the nett energy balance of the said air and electrical propulsion system.The said electric motor aspect of the said propulsion system and it's connection to the wheels of the said vehicle, along with the steering, speed gearing, and other aspects such as lighting, probably being of hitherto known conventional design, but not necessarily.

2. A vehicle in which the system of Claim 1 is achieved by means of first capturing then streamlining the whole of the air of the said vehicle's air passage over the upper surfaces of the main body of the said vehicle, in which the driver and passengers would be seated, from the front to the rear of the said vehicle to where the said air turbine system is positioned towards the rear. An upper, overhead, hollow and specially shaped canopy structure being used, generally extending the entire length of the said vehicle and being the full width of the said vehicle at the front, for the purposes of maximising the capturing of the air of the said vehicle's air passage and then to aid in it's streamlining and air velocity acceleration on flowing towards the rear of the said vehicle.The said upper unit in combination with side walls, in effect, forming an air streamlining tunnel with the said upper surfaces of the said vehicle. The said air tunnel decreasing in dimensions from the full height of the said vehicle, and also to a lesser extent in the lateral plane, from the front of the said vehicle to the rear to optimum horizontal planar area dimensions at entry to a corresponding optimised sized said air turbine system.

The said air tunnel following the contours of the said main body of the said vehicle at the base of the said air tunnel, the said main body being generally, although not necessarily, of a half teardrop shape in the length cross-section with the largest end at the front of the said vehicle, this being a shape to give maximum air displacement with maximum streamlining effect. The said air tunnel being very much flatter at the top in the following the countours of the underside surface of the said specially shaped overhead, upper unit.The capturing, streamlining, concentrating and thereby acceleration of the air of the said vehicle's air passage causing maximisation of it's forward kinetic energy content in accordance with the equations:-- K.E.=3,V2; V 8 1/Area of said Turbine entry; P + 2 pV2=Constant. The latter being the basis of the Bernoulli's theorem governing air streamlining by a moving body.The main basis of the concept thus being that there is a large advantage to be gained in the said forward kinetic energy of a given volume of displaced air of the said vehicle's air passage by an increase in the velocity, V of the said air due to the V2 relationship in the aforegoing equations, which will be in excess of the air resistance of the said vehicle, the latter because of the said diminution of rear drag forces being less than normal. The intention also being to use the hollow nature of the said overhead, upper unit for the purposes of housing components of the said propulsion system such as generator and batteries.

3. A vehicle in which the system of Claim 1 is achieved by means of initially cleaving the air of the said vehicle's air passage with the front nose of the vehicle, forming an upper and lower air flow, which are then streamlined over both the upper and lower surfaces of the said vehicle's main body, respectively. The shape of the said main body of the vehicle in which driver and passengers would be seated, in this case being that of a full tear drop design in the length cross section, with the largest end being at the front of the said vehicle. The two separated air flows therefore initially diverging and then converying over the said respective upper and lower surfaces of the said vehicle. Then finally combining just prior to entry of the said air flows into said air turbine system of Claim 1.The said main body in this case being suitably contained within an outer structure comprising an overhead, upper, canopy unit; a lower ground unit, the lower surface of which being parallel with, but several inches above, the ground; and side walls, with the creation then, in effect, of two similar shaped and sized air tunnels above and below the said vehicle's main body, which in vertical dimensions first decrease fairly rapidly over the said large frontal end of the tear drop shaping and then, comparatively, gradually decrease over the narrowing end of the said main body tear drop shaping, before then finally combining.The dimensions of the said vehicle and said air tunnels also gradually decreasing in the lateral plane towards the rear of the said vehicle, with then an optimimum sized area in the horizontal plane for the said combined air tunnel being formed just prior to entry of the said combined air stream into the said air turbine system of Claim 1. The latter also being of a corresponding optimum size. The said upper, overhead unit having it's upper surface fairly parallel with the ground, although probably slanting downwards slightly from front to rear, in contrast to the lower surface of said overhead unit which follows more closely the steeper slant of the said tear drop shaping towards the rear of the said main body. Similarly, the said lower ground unit being so shaped.Thus each of these said units will increase in vertical dimension towards the rear of the said vehicle with the creation of hollow spaces, which would be used for housing components of the said propulsion system such as generator and batteries, as being similarly the case in the said vehicle of Claim 2.

4. A vehicle in which the system of Claim 1 is achieved by having a smaller, but similar inner unit to that of Claim 3, but which in this case just the driver and perhaps one adjacent passenger would be seated, contained inside and more towards the front of an outer structure. This said outer structure comprising a similar said overhead upper canopy unit and said side walls to those of Claim 3, but in this case having a much larger lower unit in vertical dimension towards the rear of the said vehicle. which would seat passengers as well as house components of the propulsion system, e.g. batteries, as in Claim 3. The upper unit also being used for this latter purpose, similarly as in Claim 3.

5. A vehicle in which the system of Claim 1 is achieved by means of initially capturing and then streamlining all of the air of the said vehicle's air passage beneath the lower surfaces of the main body of the said vehicle, in which driver and passengers would be seated, with a lower ground unit, the upper surfaces of which form, in effect, a streamlining air tunnel with the lower surface of the said main vehicle body and side walls. This said vehicle therefore being the upside down version of the said vehicle of Claim 2, with respect to the streamlining of the air of the said vehicle's air passage.Thus similarly, but the other way around, the said air tunnel decreases from the full height of the said vehicle as the tunnel follows the contours of the lower surfaces of the said main body of the vehicle, firstly more rapidly then more gradually, to optimum dimensions at the entry to the said turbine system of Claim 1, positioned towards the rear of the said vehicle. The lateral dimension also gradually decreasing from front to rear to yield the said optimum dimensions. The said lower ground unit will have it's lower surface several inches from the surface of the ground, which will be virtually parallel with the said ground, whilst it's upper surface will be suitably shaped for improved streamlining, probably of a shallow convex curve shape. The space thus created within the said lower ground unit being used to house components of the said propulsion system, such as possibly batteris and generators, as in the case of the upper, overhead, unit of Claim 2.

6. A vehicle in which the system of Claim 1 is achieved through the creation of two separate air streams by the said vehicle's body in order to capture the whole of the air of the said vehicle's air passage, there being a lower and an upper air stream with each having their own separate said air turbine and generator systems, in contrast to the said vehicles of Claims 2, 3, 4, and 5. The said lower air stream being formed at the lower front of the said vehicle by means of the creation of a short air tunnel, extending the full width of the said vehicle at the front, and extending several feet into the front of a vehicle, decreasing in lateral and vertical dimensions to optimum dimensions at entry into the said lower air turbine system, also of corresponding optimum size.This said lower system thus being in the position where the engine of a more conventional road vehicle would normally be placed, with the associated said air flow in this case exiting from the said lower air turbine system beneath and almost halfway along the lower surface of the said vehicle's body. The said upper air stream being created in a very similar fashion to that of Claim 2, with overhead, upper unit and side walls, but in this case, there being only about half the air of the said vehicle's air passage pass via this said upper air stream flow, the remainder passing via the aforementioned lower frontal system. Similarly, as with said previous vehicles, the spaces created inside upper and lower units being used to house components of the propulsion system such as generators and batteries.

7. Where applicable, the use of a frontal air scoop in the system of Claim 1, extending the full frontal width of the said vehicle(s) and extending as close to the ground as possible in order to then, firstly, maximise the captured air of the said vehicle's air passage, and secondly to create a partial vacuum effect beneath the said vehicle-mainly for the purposes of application of the partial vacuum to the exits of the said air turbine systems, but also to improve upon road holding. This said frontal air scoop being a separate unit from the main body of the said vehicle, and being manually and semi to fully automatically liftable to the lower level of the said main body of the said vehicle(s).

8. Where applicable, the frontal shaping of the said vehicles of Claim 1, comprising upper and lower structures, being such as to create between them a venturi shaping entry in the intial approaches of the said air stream(s) to the said air turbine(s). The horizontal planar area dimensions of the venturi entry being close to, if not less than, the corresponding area dimensions of the said air turbine entry in order to then improve upon overcoming back pressure by the early attainment of maximised/optimum forward dynamic pressure in said air stream(s).

9. Where applicable, the use of suitably sized baffles, being tear drop shaped in the cross section, suitably positioned, inside and laterally across the said air tunnels of Claims 2-6 for the purpose of repeatedly speeding up the said air stream inside the said air tunnels on it's approach to the said air turbine systems. The said baffles, in conjunction with tunnel shaping, by said action further assisting in overcoming the back pressure and in maximising the forward speed of the said air stream in the steady state of the said systems, perhaps partially behaving as one way valves by said action. Furthermore, where applicable, the use of similar suitably sized tear drop shaped baffles across the front of said vehicles of Claims 2-6 to assist in early streamlining formation of the air of said air passages.

10. Where applicable, the use of suitably sized lateral vanes inside the said air tunnels and across the entry to the said air turbine systems of Claims 2-6, intended for the dual purpose of more sensitively directing the said air stream for maximising forward vector impingement pressure and to effect some final acceleration of the said air streams just prior to impacting into the impellors of the said air turbines. Similarly, for said dual purpose, where applicable, the use of an upturn shaping and possibly a corresponding downturn shaping at the end of the said air tunnels of Claims 2-6, on the lower and upper surfaces respectively, just prior to said air turbine entries.

11. The use of either a single or a dual stage turbine arrangement in the said turbine system of Claim 1. The dual stage arrangement comprising a primary turbine in the pathway of the said air stream closely followed by a secondary stage, being suitably linked to each other and to the said generator to effect it's rotation. The said primary stage being only that present in the said single stage arrangement and the turbine design therein being of either axial or a radial type, as also the units at both the said primary and secondary stages of the said dual arrangement.In the latter arrangement, the linkage between the said two stages and the said generator being effected by either a direct pulley link between the two stages with then a single pulley to the said generator shaft, or by separate pulley, or rod, connections from the shaft of each of the two said turbine stages to the said generator shaft, with the gearing ratios being at an optimum for these said arrangements. The said linkages and said generator being so positioned as to cause as little impedence to said air stream flow as possible in accordance with Claim 1. The said secondary stage in the said dual arrangement being of either an air turbine, an air displacer, or a combination of an air turbine/air displacer, as the principal function of the said secondary stage.

1 2. In the case of said axial unit designs being employed, the use of either one such unit or two similar said units side by side, in order to then take better advantage of the width of the said vehicles of Claim 1, applicable to both the said single stage or said dual stage arrangement as given under Claim 11. There being appropriate circular shaping of the said air tunnels in the approaches of the said tunnels to the said air turbine systems, in order to correspond to their axial entry shapes.

13. The said air displacer function, using an appropriate unit or units in the position of the said secondary stage of the said dual arrangement of Claim 11 and 12, being in order to principally effect removal of air from the rear of the said primary turbine(s), as opposed to acting in a turbine capacity for the principal purpose of capturing residual energy remaining in the air flow on exiting from the said primary turbine stage. Furthermore this said air displacer function being for the dual purpose of maximising the pressure drop across the said primary turbine stage, whilst in the same action effecting more rapid replenishment of the said wake zone with air at the rear of the said vehicles of Claims 1-6, thereby improving upon the negation of said rear drag forces on the rear body of the said vehicles.

Thus, in effect by this action, transferring and concentrating the said rear drag forces more directly just onto the rear of the said primary turbine stage, and in so doing, having the effect of also increasing the potential for energy conversion by the said primary turbine stage, in addition to the aforementioned action of minimising said rear drag forces on the body of said vehicles. The desired relative rotational speeds between the said two stages of the said dual arrangement being achieved by appropriate linkage and gearing ratios, using either of the said linkage systems of Claim 11, and their interconnecting actions being such that the rotation of one stage effects the rotation of the other and vice versa, as well as the said generator.There being two principal ways of applying the said dual arrangement, firstly by having the air displacement capacity of the said air dispiacer stage grater than the volume of air flow entering and passing through the said primary turbine stage, thereby by this means also creating a partial self sustaining interaction between the said two stages in which, in the steady state of the system, the forward air velocity of said entering air stream becomes maximised, leading to maximisation of energy conversion, as well as ensuring said maximum pressure drop across said primary turbine stage and maximised immediate said wake zone replenishment with said exiting air, as in Claim 1.Secondly, by having the air displacement capacity of the said air displacer stage the same or slightly less than the volume of said air passing through the said primary turbine stage, and in so doing, intending to achieve some capturing of residual energy in the said air flow on passing through the said primary stage by special design of air displacer, as well as also aiding the passage of said air to the rear of the said vehicles in order to better replenish the said wake zone and in so doing achieve some concentration and transference of the said rear drag forces onto the rear of the primary turbine stage. This said second action being the combined air turbine/air displacer function referred to as in Claim 11.

1 4. The use of a relative speed ratio adjuster between the said two stages of the said dual arrangement of Claims 11, 12, 13, in order to then effect ongoing optimisation of their relative rotational speeds according to vehicle speed, either by semi or fully automatic means. A method of achieving the latter being by a pre-programmed, on-board, computer relaying pre-determined settings electronically to the said speed ratio adjuster in response to said vehicle speed input.

1 5. In cases where applicable, the use of ducts extending the full width of the said vehicles of Claims

1-6 and creating connection between the said underside partial vacuum, as caused by the said frontal air scoop, and the said air turbine system, in order to then apply the said partial vacuum to the inter zone region between the said two stages of the said dual arrangements of Claim 13, for the purpose of maximising the said pressure drop across the said primary turbine and, therefore, the energy conversion potential of the said system. Similarly, the use of said ducting arrangements applied more directly onto the downward stroke of either the said primary stage, secondary stage, or both said stages in the respective systems of Claims 11, 1 2 and 13, with the intention of similarly achieving increased energy output.The underside floor shaping in said vehicles, being such as to improve the said partial vacuum, suctional, effect. For example, by having downturns on the underside front edge of the said ducts.

1 6. Similarly, and in cases where applicable, the use of upper ducting arrangements extending the full width of the said vehicles of Claims 1-6 and creating a connection between similar regions of the said air turbine system as those for Claim 1 5, and the rear topside surface of the said vehicle, thereby being exposed to the surrounding air. The suctional force in this case being created by the rapid flow of said surrounding air over a special hump shaping on the said rear topside surface, extending the full width of the vehicle and having the said exposed ducting at or near its peak. Similarly, for the purpose of maximising the energy output of the said systems of Claims 1-6.

1 7. The possible use of sliding covers in suitable combination with the said ducting arrangements of Claims 1 5 and 1 6 in order to then facilitate for variable adjustment of the said ducting's effective width, and thereby the effective said suctional force created by the said ductings, for the purpose then of optimising said suctional force for the rotational speed of said air turbines/air displacers, and the speed of said vehicles This being achievable by a semi or fully automatic method, possibly by means of a choke type of adjustment mechanism or more electronically, perhaps again via a pre-programmed on-board computer, having predetermined settings relayed in accordance with monitored said speeds, as used in Claim 14.

1 8. As an advancement on more conventional designs, the possible use of special designs for the said air turbines in the systems of Claims 1-6, with respect to their impellors, particularly in said systems in which said radial turbine types are being employed, when it is considered the special properties of laminar air flow could be used to good advantage, e.g. laminar layering, as follows:-- (a) the application of lift and drag forces onto shaped impeilors of a wing design, centrally fixed and possibly in combination with said entry vanes for improved direction of air flow; (b) similarly, the possible application of said lift and drag forces onto convex curved impellors, which will also give increased surface area for the main impingement pressure; (c) the use of convex curved impellors, which are offset from centre and either overlap slightly in the central region or overlap up to halfway across, with the creation then of a void central zone in which a central convex of air will 'roll' up during use. Thereby probably improving upon the extraction of energy from the said air flow. This feature possibly being coupled with said effect given under (b); (d) a combination of (a) and (b) in which wing shaped impellors, slightly convex curved, are offset from centre so as to also create said central vortex in use. Thereby combining and maximising all the possible forces and effects that could result in improved extraction of energy from the said air flow. Possibly also in this case the use of underside flaps.

1 9. The possible use of a specially designed unit in the said second stage of the said dual arrangement given in Claim 13 for the purpose of performing the said dual function of air turbine for extraction of air flow energy and air displacer. This being achieved by the use of short impellors in the central region of a said radial design unit, in between full length impellors. The former being for the purpose of capturing said air flow residual energy and the latter mainly for the purpose of air displacement.The relative impellor rotational speeds at centre and periphery and the relative positioning of the said two stages being such that the periphery of the said air flow on exiting from the said primary stage, where most of the said residual energy is likely to be, will impact into the relative slower moving short central impellors, whilst the said larger impellors will mainly carry out the said displacement of air, being faster moving relative to the said air flow towards their periphery. This said special unit possibly being used in combination with said ducting arrangements, especially acting upon the downward stroke of the said primary stage.

20. The use of very friction free shaft bearings on the said primary and secondary stage units of the said air turbine systems of Claims 11, 12 and 13, with the possible use of continuous light oil drip feeds to the said bearings.

21. The use of aerofoil deflectors across the rear of the said vehicles in order to aid the exiting air from the said air turbine systems of Claims 11, 1 2 and 13, in the removal of said rear drag forces on the said vehicles bodies and to help direct the said drag forces onto the said air turbine system exits.

22. The possible use of an optimum number of smaller generators appropriately linked to the systems of Claims 11, 12 and 13, as opposed to the use of one larger generator, in order to then possibly lower the back pressure effect of the overall back EMF on the velocity of said air stream.

23. The possible use of a variable gearing system between the said air turbine systems of Claims 11, 12 and 13, and the associated generator system in order to then maintain a more constant and optimum said generator system rotational speed for a variable said air turbine system rotational speed.

Thereby better achieving peak said generator system output performance over the range of said vehicle, and therefore said air turbine system, speeds. i.e. the maintenance of maximum torque equilibrium between applied said air stream force effecting forward rotation and the back retardation effect of the said back EMF. This inclusion possibly being a further function of an on-board preprogrammed computer, which electronically effected pre-determined said generator system speeds in accordance with said air turbine speed, similarly as employed under Claims 14 and 1 7.

24. The inclusion of a reserve second battery bank operating in conjunction with the said main battery system given under Claim 1 in order to then better maintain the battery electrical supply efficiency over a longer period of a journey in which energy usage exceeded energy production by the action of changing over to the said second battery bank at times when the efficiency of the said main battery bank become lowered due to a lowering charge on the said main system, and vice-versa.

Monitoring of said battery efficiencies and the change over, possibly being another function of an onboard computer.

25. The possible inclusion of a change over system on the said generator system given under Claim 1 to facilitate for a direct feed electrical supply to the said electric motor system, with any surplus electricity'being fed for storage in said battery systems, at times when the said generator system was producing more electricity than was required by the said electric motor system in use.

Thus, by this means reducing energy losses due to inefficiencies of said battery systems.

26. The possible use of high impact, non-breakable glass for the said vehicle bodies of Claims 1-6, and for various components of the said systems therein such as the turbine impellors, as an alternative to the use of more conventional materials.