Wind Turbines In Automobiles/hybrids

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Does anyone know if wind turbine technology has ever been applied in a hybrid automobile? Could wind turbine technology help with mpg? If so, would there be any draw backs to overcome, to make this technology applicable. It would seem logical, that if you were creating wind as a byproduct of motion, then harnessing the suggested energy would increase efficiency in a hybrid electric vehicle.

[CraigD]

Does anyone know if wind turbine technology has ever been applied in a hybrid automobile? Could wind turbine technology help with mpg?

The drag created by any kind of device like a propeller/air screw used to generate energy would have to be compensated for by increased engine and driving wheel force, so any scheme like you describe, JAT, would decrease a vehicles distance/fuel efficiency. What you're describing is a kind of "more in than out"/"over unity"/"perpetual motion" machine, and is mechanically imposible.

 

Like any electrically chargeable device, a hybrid car with an external charging system (eg: a Chevy Volt, but not a stock Toyota Prius) could be charged by a wind turbine electric generator. One could be built into the car so that it pops up when it's parked, so if parked for a while in a windy place, could recharge the vehicle.

 

For a sense or practicality, a small (0.6m m, 2.1 ft) COTS generator such as this one with a steady 12 mile/hour wind could provide about a 2 miles driving range charge in 8 hours. I'd guess that a pop-up mast system with 2 to 4 turbines this size might be feasible.

 

However, as with all wind power, it would only work if you could consistently park the car in a windy place. I think it makes more sense to permanently place large wind-electric generators in known windy places, feed their power into the commercial electric distribution system, and charge your electric or plug-in hybrid car from your residential electric supply.

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Thanks for your quick reply, what you are saying makes sense. I would be consuming more energy then producing due to the added drag. So basiclly, it would be more beneficial for one to reduce drag as much as possible in order to increase mpg. All electric vehicles would be great, but the cost/range just not good enough for me yet. Could a clutched turbine of some sort be utilized only at points of like lets say down grades, computer controlled of course, to maximize on momentum? Do you think that the added weight would be counter productive when pulling upgrades thus making no difference?

[CraigD]

All electric vehicles would be great, but the cost/range just not good enough for me yet.

I’ve a strong hunch that another wave of battery improvements is imminent, involving batteries with anodes and cathodes made of special materials such as lithium titanate which undergo less molecular movement when charged and discharged, and hence faster charging and discharging with less heat and wear and tear on the battery.

 

Could a clutched turbine of some sort be utilized only at points of like lets say down grades, computer controlled of course, to maximize on momentum? Do you think that the added weight would be counter productive when pulling upgrades thus making no difference?

All current electric and hybrid cars and buses have regenerative braking systems which charge their batteries when the car is rolling downhill. These systems require little additional hardware, and are as efficient as their propulsion system. So what you’re describing – essentially a “regenerative aerodynamic brake”, wouldn’t be as good as what these vehicles already have.

 

Non-regenerative aerodynamic brakes were briefly popular in the early 20th on some high-performance cars, to reduce heating and wear on their friction brakes, but haven’t been a feature on most cars for many years. A few carmakers – most of them also WWI era airplane makers, too – flirted with propeller-driven cars, but quickly abandoned the attempt, as they were loud, dangerous, slow, and couldn’t climb steep hills.

 

In short, propellers (AKA wind turbines, air screws, etc) aren't very good for ground vehicles. Were airplanes able to put driving wheels on the ground, their designers wouldn’t mess with props either, but of course, they can’t – not touching the ground is pretty much the whole point of an airplane.

[Zythryn]

All electric vehicles would be great, but the cost/range just not good enough for me yet.

Fortunately our driving habits allow us to drive an EV. The current EVs are workable for many people, but certainly not everyone.

As Craig mentioned, battery technology continues to improve and should make EVs workable for more and more people in the near future:)