Experimental Investigations of Wind Shear from Passing a Vehicle

Abstract:

Wind energy can be harnessed for various commercial and transportation-related applications. This study assessed experimentally the potential of capturing wind energy from the passage of vehicles for electric power generation. Both wind tunnel experiments and field tests were performed. The wind tunnel experiments were performed in an open-circuit low-speed wind tunnel at a free-stream mean velocity of 23 m/s. Five PVC pipes placed adjacent to the wind-blowing domain were used to simulate the columns under a freeway overpass. A scaled Ahmad body (simplified car body model) was used as the vehicle. The spanwise distance between the Ahmad body and the tubes was 0.75 W where W is the width of the vehicle. The middle tube was used as a reference tube for circumferential and vertical pressure measurements. The streamwise locations of the vehicle were according to our previous transient numerical simulations as the vehicle approached and passed the columns at 0.1–0.5 sec. Results showed a significant potential of the transient wind generated from passing vehicles and identified optimized locations for harnessing this wind for electric power generation. Field tests were performed using a moving scaled Ahmad body. The vehicle speed was approximately 22 miles/hr (10 m/s.). Wind measurements were made up to 0.75 W adjacent to a vertical wall with static and total pressure taps. Results verified the corresponding wind tunnel results and showed a maximum transient wind of 10 m/s from the passing of the vehicle. These results were in agreement with our previous simulation results. The experiment results suggest great potential for harnessing the wind from vehicles to generate electric power, benefiting California's renewable energy goals.

Publications:

Experimental Investigations of Wind Shear from Passing a Vehicle (Full Report)

Research Brief

Authors:

HAMID RAHAI, PHD

Dr. Hamid Rahai is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering & Biomedical Engineering and is the director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Research & Services (CEERS) in the College of Engineering at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He has taught various classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels in thermal sciences, supervised over 70 M.S. theses and projects and Ph.D. dissertations, and published more than 100 technical papers. He has been granted patents for the development of a high-efficiency vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and wind turbine apparatuses and for reducing NOx emission of Cargo Handling Equipment using a Humid Air System. He also has pending patents related to an environmental artificial tree designed to reduce ambient NOx and a new guide-vane enclosure for capturing wind energy from passing vehicles. Dr. Rahai is the recipient of the 2004 Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2012 CSULB Impact Accomplishment of the Year in RSCA Award. He received the Outstanding Engineering Educator Award from the Orange County Engineering Council in California in 2014, and in 2019 he was inducted as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

ASSMA BEGUM

Ms. Assma Begum is a graduate student in the joint PhD program between the CSULB College of Engineering and the Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and a research assistant at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research & Services (CEERS) in the College of Engineering at CSULB. She has been involved in various projects at CEERS related to the aerodynamics of rotating cylinders and wind shears from passing vehicles and is author and co-author of two technical conference papers and one journal paper.

JEREMY BONIFACIO, PHD

Dr. Jeremy Bonifacio is a teaching professor and a senior researcher at the CEERS in the College of Engineering at CSULB. His expertise is experimental and computational fluid mechanics. He has been involved in various applied industrial projects at CEERS and is co-owner of several patents related to emission control technologies and the application of CFD in diagnosing lung diseases. Dr. Bonifacio is the winner of the CSULB 2014 innovation challenge.

RYAN MOFFIT

Mr. Ryan Moffit is a graduate student in the joint PhD program between CSULB’s College of Engineering and CGU and a research assistant at the Center for Energy and Environmental Research & Services (CEERS) in the College of Engineering at CSULB. Mr. Moffit is an experimentalist. His research is focused on finding an optimized surface geometry for reducing the drag of vehicles. He has authored and co-authored two ASME conference papers.

Published:

December 2024

Keywords:

Sustainability

Wind power

Wind energy

Transportation technology

Energy harvesting