05-03-2013, 09:59 AM
Design and Implement Bicycle Power Generator House
Implement Bicycle.docx (Size: 127.36 KB / Downloads: 30)
ABSTRACT
Our goal for this project is to design and implement a bicycle power generator for the house. The project is an initiative to bring safe and reliable power to the billions of people around the world without electricity. This goal will be accomplished by designing a safe and sturdy human powered stationary bicycle that produces DC energy. The DC power generated can be stored via batteries and used by the local population to use for lights and other utilities that many take for granted on a daily basis. Bicycle Power Generators are not a new idea, with many created by hobbyist for residential use with small scale energy in mind, to charge batteries in case of a power outage or natural disaster. The objective is to build a device that is safer and more power efficient.
INTRODUCTION
In today’s modern society, most people just flip a switch or push a button, and everything we depend on is readily available. Cell phones, computers, televisions, heated water, lights, and so much more, are all the backbone of any modern society’s functionality. The electricity powering all these systems is something most people rarely think about until the power is no longer available for use. The extensive system that allows for an instant and near constant supply of conditioned power is referred to as the grid. This grid is usually supported by government and/or private in developed countries; a government must have enough financial resources to establish and support a significant investment to provide the service of electricity. In our country rural areas are facing problems of load shedding. This power crisis will not be getting better in the future.
As of today, oil is by far the most used energy product in the world’s energy supply, with coal at a distant second. According to the International Energy Agency, oil products make up over 33% of the world’s energy supply, while coal products make up around 27% of the world’s energy supply. The Middle East and Russia are the top producers of oil in the world, and based on their current trends, will be hitting peak oil production within the next decade. This means the energy demand will continue to increase but the oil supply will not be able to follow the same trend. There is only one way to create a standalone system, and this is with a generator. The type of generator to select is our main concern. The typical solution is to use a fossil fueled generator that produces AC or DC energy from fossil fuels. This solution is less than ideal as fossil fueled generators are bulky and expensive, plus the ever-rising costs of fossil fuels and the negative impacts on the environment due to emissions. Additionally, more regulations regarding emissions are starting to limit the burning of harsher fuel. Clean energy technology development has increased to combat the cost of rising fuel costs and provide an alternative to fossil fuel. This alternative is to use more sustainable means of power generation. These means include solar, wind, water, and human powered generators that produce clean energy.
DESIGN
BICYCLE
A bicycle is designed to convert human energy into mechanical energy for transportation purposes. The mechanical energy is then translated into electrical energy through the use of a drive train turning a motor. To maximize the efficiency of both conversions is essential to obtaining the maximum power output. The first conversion is from human energy or muscle energy into mechanical energy. The bicycle is an efficient and robust method to convert between the two types of energy. It is an efficient design that provides seating for the user as well as pedals and drive train that are easily activated. There are few moving parts and the simplicity of design is proven. The bicycle is one of the most efficient uses of the human body’s existing musculature and the ergonomic position allows for nearly everyone to utilize. As published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, ―Pedalling is the most efficient way of utilizing power from human muscles. Pedal power enables a person to drive devices at the same or higher rate as that achieved by hand cranking, but with far less effort and fatigue. The human musculature is concentrated in our legs and the bicycle set-up allows for harnessing the maximum output. The article also explains that stationary power generation on bicycles has been skipped over in past research but with the rising cost of other power generation, reliance on human power generation will become more important; furthermore, the bicycle is a universal symbol of transportation in all types of countries especially developing ones. We can find bicycles everywhere and the robustness of the simple mechanical system makes the learning curve essentially zero.
GENERATOR COUPLING SYSTEM
The first step in designing a bicycle generator is building the stand for the bicycle. A bicycle being an important transportation device, we tried to design a stand that would not damage the original intention of the bicycle. Our stand’s design could not render the bicycle useless for traditional transportation. A permanent attachment to the stand would also avoid transportation. Welding and other permanent methods were thus eliminated from design choices. We placed generator on carriage. The shaft of generator is connected gear of 16 teeth.
PERMANENT MAGNET DC MOTOR
A generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by using the principle of magnetic induction. This principle is explained as follows:
Whenever a conductor is moved within a magnetic field in such a way that the conductor cuts across magnetic lines of flux, voltage is generated in the conductor.
The AMOUNT of voltage generated depends on
(1) The strength of the magnetic field,
(2) The angle at which the conductor cuts the magnetic field,
INVERTER
This is an inexpensive fully transistorised inverter capable of driving medium loads of the order of 40 to 60 watts using battery of 12V, 15 Ah or higher capacity. Transistors T1 and T2 (BC548) form a 50Hz multivibrator. For obtaining correct frequency, the values of resistors R3 and R4 may have to be changed after testing. The complementary outputs from collectors of transistors T1 and T2 are given to PNP Darlington driver stages formed by transistor pairs T3-T4 and T6-T7 (utilising transistors BD140 and 2N6107). The outputs from the drivers are fed to transistors T5 and T8 (2N3055) connected for push-pull operation.
CONCLUSION
The project goal was to supply a battery with a 12 volt DC output. This goal had to be met within the constraints of a low production cost and high safety. The project had to offer a durable product with relatively good efficiency. The project results were conclusive with the generator as an energy provider. Generators are great tool when running at a high RPM, but less efficient when running at a lower RPM, like that provided by users pedaling the bicycle. There are many other options to explore to find the most efficient way of producing DC power from a bicycle, but we believe modifying a generator is the most cost effective way to reach that goal. Belt coupling between generator shaft & back wheel of cycle was inefficient. To reduce slippage between the belt couplings chain arrangement has been done by us. Further stress tests over a longer period of time would also be beneficial in order to determine the actual average lifetime of our project, and if the cost of production is worth the provided power within that lifetime.