Photo: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Trying to get back as much of the energy we consume while driving is the engineer’s primary concern in the automotive industry. Some of the new generation models already use regenerative braking, for instance, while other similar technologies are at different stages of R&D. But what if we could harness the energy out of a car’s rolling tire friction?
Well, for once we’d save fuel, no matter if that translates with oil or electricity. Whatever the car may use to rev the engine, some power could be recuperated if this technology proves to be possible. According to the research a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and a collaborator from China have developed, it is.
How? They have developed a nanogenerator they later mounted on a Jeep Wrangler scale model. The device relies on something that’s called “the triboelectric effect” to harness energy from the changing electric potential between the pavement and the vehicle’s wheels. This effect essentially represents the electric charge that results from the contact or rubbing together of two dissimilar objects.
Xudon Wang, the Harvey D. Spangler fellow and associate professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison, and his Ph.D. student Yanchao Mao have been working on this device for about a year.
“The friction between the tire and the ground consumes about 10 percent of a vehicle’s fuel,” Wang says. “That energy is wasted. So if we can convert that energy, it could give us a very good improvement in fuel efficiency.”
10 percent may not seem like a lot, but the researchers also determined that the quantity of energy harnessed is directly related to the weight of a car, as well as its speed. Figures may vary, but Wang estimates about a 10-percent increase in the average vehicle’s gas mileage. Imagine what that represents money wisely.
How? They have developed a nanogenerator they later mounted on a Jeep Wrangler scale model. The device relies on something that’s called “the triboelectric effect” to harness energy from the changing electric potential between the pavement and the vehicle’s wheels. This effect essentially represents the electric charge that results from the contact or rubbing together of two dissimilar objects.
Xudon Wang, the Harvey D. Spangler fellow and associate professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison, and his Ph.D. student Yanchao Mao have been working on this device for about a year.
“The friction between the tire and the ground consumes about 10 percent of a vehicle’s fuel,” Wang says. “That energy is wasted. So if we can convert that energy, it could give us a very good improvement in fuel efficiency.”
The amount of energy harnessed grows with the weight and speed of the car
As we said, the nanogenerator relies on an electrode integrated into a segment of the tire. To prove their theory, they used a toy car with LED lights. They attached the wire to the wheels of the car, and as it rolled across the ground, the LED lights flashed on and off. What does that mean? Well, it means that the movement of electrons caused by friction was able to generate enough energy to power the lights.10 percent may not seem like a lot, but the researchers also determined that the quantity of energy harnessed is directly related to the weight of a car, as well as its speed. Figures may vary, but Wang estimates about a 10-percent increase in the average vehicle’s gas mileage. Imagine what that represents money wisely.
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