GB2586825A

GB2586825A - Vehicle induced airflow power generation system

Info

Publication number: GB2586825A
Application number: GB1912721.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Patel Jimishkumar; Patel Krupaliben
Original assignee: Airplus Renewables Ltd
Current assignee: Airplus Renewables Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-04
Filing date: 2019-09-04
Publication date: 2021-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-04
Also published as: GB2586825B; GB201912721D0

Abstract

A barrier system 100 comprising a turbine 10 to be driven by vehicle induced airflow, a generator and an air purifying device e.g. a moveable filter which may be a HEPA filter, NOx filter or metal organic framework filter. The system may comprise a housing (fig.2, 20), wherein the generator may be located within or outside and behind the housing. The turbine may be mounted horizontally within the housing, comprise a rotatable shaft 12 (which may be made of metal or metal alloy) coupled to the generator and/or comprise air capture members 11 e.g. vanes or flaps which are twisted or curved, disposed along the shaft, may be removable and/or formed of a plastic, metal or metal alloy. A resilient member may extend between the air capture members and the shaft. The shaft may comprise a pinion gear coupled to a crankshaft. The purifying device may be located at an inlet 21 or outlet 22 of the housing. The barrier may be 0.15-300 meters long and/or 0.1-5 meters high, partly below ground level, provided along a road/ motorway/ train track/ runway, part of an existing barrier or be a stack of barriers.

Description

VEHICLE INDUCED AIRFLOW POWER GENERATION SYSTEM Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a barrier system for a vehicular pathway configured to generate electrical energy from vehicle induced airflow and to a system comprising a plurality of said barrier systems.

Background to the Invention

Most electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels, mainly natural gas and coal and a small proportion comes from nuclear reactors. While such methods of generating electricity have been commercially viable up until now, coal and gas supplies are diminishing and therefore the cost of electricity generated from these natural resources is set to rise. The burning of fossil fuels is also known to contribute significantly to global warming and therefore there is an increasing trend of using renewable energy sources to generate electricity.

Renewable energy sources are those which come from natural resources and are not significantly depleted by their use. Typical renewable energy sources for generating electricity include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat, and of these, wind and solar based energy generating systems are most widely used to minimise fossil fuel usage.

Wind turbines generally comprise a box-like structure called a nacelle which sits at the top of a tower. In operation wind passes over wind turbine blades and makes them spin. This causes a shaft located within the nacelle to rotate and this rotational energy is converted into electrical energy by a generator. A transformer then converts the electricity to the correct voltage for the local network before it is transported to the grid. However, a known disadvantage of wind as source of energy for generating electricity is that it is intermittent and therefore it cannot be relied upon to continuously generate electricity. Moreover, wind turbines are generally located away from urban areas due to their size and therefore additional infrastructure in the form of overhead power lines are required to transport the electricity to those areas where it is needed most.

In light of the above it is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus and system for generating electricity which does not rely on the availability of natural wind It is another object of embodiment of the present invention to provide an apparatus and system for generating electricity in urban areas.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a barrier system for a vehicular pathway comprising a turbine which is configured to be rotatably driven by airflow caused by vehicles moving along the vehicular pathway, a generator for converting rotational energy into electrical energy and an air purifying device.

The barrier system enables vehicle induced airflow to be harnessed along a vehicular pathway such as a road or a motorway. Since vehicle induced airflow is generated throughout the day and generally in the same direction, it is a more reliable energy source than natural wind which enables electrical energy to be generated on a more continuous basis. Since the energy generating barrier system is intended to replace or be mounted to existing barrier systems located along a vehicular pathway, vehicle induced airflow can be harnessed in both urban and rural areas with no additional visual impact or dead space (unlike conventional wind turbines). Moreover, since the barrier system comprises an air purifying device it is possible to improve the quality of the air in areas where the barrier system is installed, i.e. the barrier system is able to reduce the concentration of harmful gases and particulate matter in the air which are known to be emitted from vehicles such as cars, busses, lorries and motorbikes.

The turbine may be enclosed within a housing. In particular, the turbine may be horizontally mounted within the housing. The housing may be formed from carbon fibre plastic or a metal alloy such as stainless steel which has good weldability and corrosion protective properties. In some embodiments the housing may be formed from a steel having an austenitic and martensitic microstructure. For example, the steel may be a high strength steel or an advanced high strength steel.

The housing may be perforated. This has the benefit that a greater proportion of vehicular induced airflow can be used to drive the turbine.

The turbine may comprise a rotatable shaft. The shaft may be coupled to the electrical generator. The generator may be located outside and behind the housing, i.e. the housing sits between the generator and the vehicular pathway. On the other hand, when the barrier is provided in a central reservation, the generator may be housed within the housing itself The turbine may comprise a single air capture member which extends along the length of the rotatable shaft Alternatively, the turbine may comprise a plurality of air 20 capture members. Each air capture member may be spaced apart and circumferentially disposed along the rotatable shaft.

The turbine may comprise between 2 and 6 air capture members. However, it will be appreciated that the number of air capture members could also be greater than 6 depending on the length of the shaft and where the barrier system is located.

The air capture members may comprise blades, vanes or flaps. Preferably, the air capture members are twisted or curved in order to increase the rotational speed of the turbine.

In some embodiments a resilient member may extend between the air capture members and the rotatable shaft. The resilient member may comprise a spring. In use, movement of the resilient member causes rotation of the shaft during periods of low traffic. The air capture members may be removably detachable from the resilient member. Similarly, the resilient members may be removably detachable from the rotatable shaft.

In some embodiments the flaps may be removably detachable from the shaft. Each flap may comprise a male part and the shaft may comprise a corresponding number of female parts for receiving the male part of each flap. Accordingly, the flaps may be exchanged easily and quickly in the event of damage or f a different shaped flap is desired.

The shaft may be formed from a metal or a metal alloy such as stainless steel.

The blades, vanes and flaps may be formed from a metal or metal alloy. In some embodiments the flaps may be formed from a plastic material Preferably, the plastic material is a stiff plastic material.

The barrier system may comprise a rack and pinion mechanism. In particular, the turbine shaft may comprises a pinion gear which is configured to engage with the rack. The rack may be coupled to a speed bump or to a panel in the road. As moving vehicles pass over the speed bump or panel the rack is caused to translate vertically. The kinetic energy generated by the vertical displacement of the rack in turn causes the pinion gear and shaft to rotate and this rotational energy is transferred to the electrical generator for conversion into electrical energy. In other embodiments the barrier system may comprise a crankshaft coupled to the speed bump or panel. As vehicles pass over the speed bump or panel they become vertically displaced which causes the crankshaft to rotate. The crankshaft is preferably coupled to the turbine shaft to enable kinetic energy generated by the vertical displacement of the speed bump or panel to be transferred to the electrical generator via the crankshaft and turbine shaft. These systems enable energy from moving vehicles to be harnessed during periods of low traffic where there may be insufficient vehicle generated airflow to drive the turbine.

The air purification device may comprise a removable filter. In particular, the filter may comprise a NOx filter, a HEPA filter or a metal organic framework filter.

The filter may be provided at an airflow inlet and/or at an airflow outlet of the housing.

If a filter is provided at both the airflow inlet and the airflow outlet, the filter at the airflow inlet may be the same or different to the filter at the airflow outlet Each barrier system may have a length of 15 cm to 300 metres. The barrier systems may be arranged continuously or they may be spaced apart.

In some embodiments the barrier system may be located 0.1 to 5 metres above ground level. Specifically, the base of the housing which surrounds the turbine may be located 0.1_ to 5 metres above ground level. Locating the barrier system at or close to ground level enables a greater proportion of the vehicle induced airflow to be captured by the air capture members which in turn increases the rotational speed of the turbine shaft. It also means that the barrier system will be easier and quicker to repair relative to conventional wind turbines.

In other embodiments, the barrier system may be provided partly below ground level.

The barrier system may be provided along a road, a motorway, a train track or an aircraft runway. In some embodiments the barrier system may be provided in a central reservation of a motorway.

The barrier system may comprise an existing barrier which is adapted to comprise the turbine and optionally the generator depending on where the existing barrier is located. In some embodiments the housing may be mounted to an existing barrier. Existing barriers typically comprise a horizontal barrier member which is fixed to two or more support posts.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system for generating electrical energy comprising a plurality of barrier systems according to the first aspect of the invention arranged along a vehicular pathway.

The system may comprise a stack of barrier systems. The barrier systems may be stacked and mounted to a support frame. In particular, the barrier systems may be stacked and held between at least two support frame members.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood one or more embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a barrier system comprising a horizontally oriented turbine; Figures 2A-2C show cross sectional views of three shaft/air capture member designs.

Figure 3 shows a stack of the barrier systems shown in Figure 1 The barrier system 100 according to the present invention is intended to replace conventional roadside barriers that are typically located at the side roads, streets or motorways. As vehicles travel along a motorway for example, they create a vehicle induced airflow which can be harnessed by the barrier system 100 of the present invention to generate electricity. The electricity generated by the barrier system 100 can be used for local demands such as powering lighting and signage or it can be fed into the grid.

The barrier system 100 comprises a turbine 10 which extends horizontally through a housing 20. In this embodiment the housing 20 has a generally tubular cross-section which is adapted to accommodate the turbine 10. The housing 20 comprises an airflow inlet 21 through which vehicle induced airflow can enter and an airflow outlet 22 through which vehicle induced airflow can exit the housing. The housing 20 is formed from a high strength steel containing microstructures formed from ba n te and/or martensite, although it will be appreciated that other steels having multiphase microstructures could be used providing they are strong enough to absorb an impact resulting from a crash. The housing 20 may be provided with a corrosion protective coating to protect it from the environment in order to extend the lifespan of the housing 20.

The turbine 10 comprises a shaft and a plurality of air capture members 11 arranged along and disposed circumferentially around the shaft 12. Figure 1 shows a turbine 10 comprising six air capture members 12, but it will be appreciated that depending on the location and length of the barrier system 100 fewer or more air capture members could be used. Each end of the shaft is pivotally mounted to a supporting framework to permit rotation of the shaft 12 in use. The air capture members 11 shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2A are in the form of curved blades 1 1 a which are integrally connected to the shaft 12. The shaft 12 and the blades lla are formed from a low weight stainless steel which has the benefit that the turbine 10 is easier to turn and also less susceptible to corrosion meaning the lifespan of the turbine 10 can be extended.

Figure 2B shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the air capture member 11 comprises a flap 1 lb which is connected to the shaft via a rigid spacer. The flap and the rigid spacer comprise reciprocating features which enable the flap to be removably connected to the rigid spacer 13. Similarly, the shaft 12 and the rigid spacer 13 comprise reciprocating features that enable the rigid spacer 13 to be removably connected to the shaft 12. Accordingly, the rigid spacer 13 can be easily and quickly detached from the shaft 12 and the flap 1 lb can be easily and quickly detached from the rigid spacer 13 if the rigid spacer 13 or flap 11 b become damaged. In another embodiment of the invention the rigid spacer 13 is integral with shaft 12 and serves as an attachment point for the flap 1 lb. The flap llb in this embodiment is formed from a stiff plastics material.

Referring now to Figure 2C, the air capture member 11 comprises a curved flap 11c which is connected to the shaft 12 via a resilient member 14 such as a coiled spring. The flap 11c is fixed to one end of the coiled spring 14 while the opposite end of spring 14 is connected to the shaft 12 via reciprocating connection details The shaft 12 of the turbine is connected to one or more generators (not shown) which are configured to convert rotational energy from the rotating shaft 12 into electrical energy. The electrical energy generated by the generator(s) is conducted via electrical cabling (not shown) to a remote location for storage or it can be utilised directly to power lighting or signage at the roadside In one example, the generator is located outside of the housing 20 and behind the barrier system 100 so as to protect the generator should a vehicle crash into the barrier system 100. Accordingly, the generator in this example is indirectly coupled to the shaft 12, e.g. by a chain or a belt. This arrangement is typically adopted if the barrier system 100 is to be utilised at the roadside rather than in a central reservation. On the other hand, if the barrier system 100 is to be utilised in a central reservation where it will be exposed to vehicular traffic travelling in opposite directions, it is preferred to provide the generator inside the housing 20 together with the turbine 10.

The housing 20 is adapted to receive an air purification filter 30 which can be removably inserted into the housing 20 at or proximal to the airflow inlet 21 and/or the airflow outlet 22 In this example the air purification filter 30 is a HEPA filter and is provided in the form of a screen which is removably insertable into corresponding slots formed at the inlet 21 and outlet 22 of the housing 20. Alternative air purification filters for removing pollutants include filters comprising activated carbon and metal organic framework filters.

Although Figure 1 shows a single energy generating barrier system 100 it will be appreciated that a plurality of energy generating barrier systems 100 can be arranged along a roadside or central reservation so that greater quantities of vehicle induced airflow can be harnessed and converted into electricity. As best shown in Figure 3, a plurality of energy generating barrier systems 100 can be provided in a stacked configuration between two support frame members. It will be appreciated that further support frame members (not shown) can be used to support the barrier system if needed The shafts 12 of the turbines 10 are preferably connected to the same generator unless the stack of energy generating barrier systems 100 are to be utilised in a central reservation.

The barrier systems 100 are arranged along the roadside in a spaced apart in-line configuration. In operation, moving vehicles, such as cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes, create an induced airflow which enters the housing via the airflow inlet. As the vehicle induced airflow passes through the housing 20 it is captured by the blades 1 1 a which forces the shaft 12 to rotate. The rotational energy generated by the shaft 12 is then converted into electrical energy by the generator. The electrical energy is then conducted away from the generator by electrical cabling connected thereto and transmitted to a remote location for storage or directly to a lighting or signage.

The one or more embodiments are described above by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of protection afforded by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSA barrier system for a vehicular pathway comprising a turbine which is configured to be rotatably driven by airflow caused by vehicles moving along the vehicular pathway, a generator for converting rotational energy into electrical energy and an air purifying device.
A barrier system according to claim 1, wherein the turbine is enclosed within a housing.
A barrier system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the turbine is horizontally mounted within the housing.
4, A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the turbine comprises a rotatable shaft which is coupled to the electrical generator.
5. A barrier system according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the generator is located outside and behind the housing A barrier according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the generator is housed within the housing A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the turbine comprises a plurality of air capture members which are spaced apart and circumferentially disposed along the rotatable shaft.A barrier system according to claim 7, wherein the air capture members comprise blades, vanes or flaps.A barrier system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the air capture members are twisted or curved.10. A barrier system according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein a resilient member extends between the air capture members and the rotatable shaft.11. A barrier system according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the flaps are removably detachable from the shaft.12. A barrier system according to claim 11, wherein each flap comprises a male part and the shaft comprises a corresponding number of female parts for receiving the male part of each flap.H. A barrier system according to any of claims 4 to 12, wherein the shaft is formed from a metal or a metal alloy.14. A barrier system according to any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the blades or vanes are formed from a metal or metal alloy and the flaps are formed from a plastic, a metal or a metal alloy.A barrier system according to any of claims 4 to 14, wherein the rotatable shaft comprises a pinion gear which is coupled to a rack or wherein the rotatable shaft is coupled to a crankshaft.16. A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the air purifying device comprises a removable filter.17. A barrier system according to claim 16, wherein the air purifying device comprises a NOx filter, a HEPA filter or a metal organic framework filter.18. A barrier system according to claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the air purifying device is provided at an airflow inlet and/or at an airflow outlet of the housing.19. A barrier according to any preceding claim, wherein the each barrier system has a length of from 15 cm to 300 metres.20. A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the barrier system is located 0.1 to 5 metres above ground level.21. A barrier system according to any of claims 1 to 19, wherein the barrier system is partly below ground level.22. A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the barrier system is provided along a road, a motorway, a train track or an aircraft runway.23. A barrier system according to any preceding claim, wherein the barrier system is mounted to an existing barrier.24. A system comprising a plurality of the barrier systems according to any preceding claim arranged along a vehicular pathway.25. A system according to claim 24, wherein the system comprises a stack of barrier systems.