Harnessing Energy from Speed Breakers for Electricity Generation

This research focuses on the innovative concept of generating electricity by utilizing the mechanical energy produced when vehicles traverse speed breakers. The study examines how integrating a rack and pinion mechanism with speed breakers can convert kinetic energy into electrical power. It involves a detailed analysis of the mechanics, potential energy output, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits of such systems. Additionally, the assignment evaluates existing implementations, identifies challenges, and proposes solutions for optimizing this renewable energy source.

ENGINEERING PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

Executive Summary
The demand on non-conventional sources of energy has been increased. Probably
during the end of the 20th century or the starting of the 21st century, there may occur demand
in conventional energy resources. The usage of electricity is increased. There may occur
scarcity for electricity soon in the future. So it is required to propose some innovative
techniques to produce electricity. The generation of electricity by the use of speed breakers to
glow the street lamps of the highways is the research problem for this project. The literature
review is performed using some articles that speak about the electricity generation using
speed breakers. The methodology that can be used for producing the electricity using the
speed breakers is explained. The effective technique called Rack and Pinion mechanism for
generating the electricity from the speed breakers is being explained in this report. The
experimental setup is tabulated by using the apparatus that are used for the generation of
electricity. Then the calculation results and the outcomes of producing the electricity is
approximately calculated. The Gantt charts are produced using the MS software that explains
the milestones of the project and the start, end dates of the completion of each process in the
generation of electricity. This research is to find new methods for producing a conventional
energy called Electricity using the speed breakers that exist in highways, this produced
electricity is useful for the street lamps to glow during night times.
Table of Contents
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Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................3
2. Background and Literature Review...........................................................................................3
3. Methodology.................................................................................................................................4
Rack and Pinion Mechanism..........................................................................................................5
4. Block Diagram for the Generation of the Electricity................................................................5
Speed Breaker Arrangement..........................................................................................................6
Arrangement of Rack, Pinion and Spring.....................................................................................6
Dynamo or Generator.....................................................................................................................6
Diode Arrangement.........................................................................................................................7
Charging the Battery.......................................................................................................................7
LED Output.....................................................................................................................................7
Advantages of the Rack and Pinion Mechanism...........................................................................7
5. Experimental Setup.....................................................................................................................8
6. Results and Outcomes.................................................................................................................8
7. Project planning...........................................................................................................................9
8. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................12
References..........................................................................................................................................12
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1. Introduction
The vehicles that travel in the roadways release more amount of energy or power
when they climb a speed breaker. This speed breaker is used for controlling the speed of the
vehicles. The purchase and usage of vehicles has been increased by 20 percentage for last 10
years. Then this usage of vehicles has been increased the traffic in all areas. Because of the
increased number of speed breakers, if a new device is introduced in the speed breakers to
make the energy of the vehicles that has been spent on the speed breakers can be generated
into an useful electricity. The principle that has been used in the generation of the electricity
using speed breaker is the conversion of the potential energy into the electrical energy. In this
paper, the things that are going to be explained is the Literature review of other articles on the
generation of electricity by the use of speed breakers, methodology that can be used in
generating the power and then the experimental set up for the power generation. The energy
that is stored in the systems are called potential energy. This potential energy is taken and it is
being converted to various forms of energy like kinetic energy. The methodology that is used
in the generation of the electricity is being explained in the methodology section. The
vehicles travel through roadways when touch the speed breaker, the potential energy has been
exposed out on the speed breakers. Then by the up and down motion of the speed breaker
makes the shaft to rotate with springs of the coil. The energy that is produced in the shaft is
sent to a dynamo which converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. A vehicle with the
weight of about 1 ton will go up to 10 cm in height is capable of producing approximately 1
kilowatt of electricity.
2. Background and Literature Review
The electricity is generated from the speed breakers using different mechanisms. The
Rack and Pinion mechanism is used in this paper. The author of the article says that this Rack
& Pinion mechanism acts in a better way for producing energy with highest amount of
efficiency. This article shows that this is not a conventional type of energy. This finds the
mechanism of using a shaft which is used to produce energy for every rotation (Gupta et al.,
2016).
According to (Prabu, 2015), the crisis of energy is considered to be a great bottleneck
in supplying the resources of energy to an economy. A crisis can get developed because of
the actions that are taken by the industry like strikes of the union of the company and some
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government policies. The main reason for the energy crisis is the over consumption of
energy. It is necessary to innovate new technologies to produce electricity, so that the future
generation can get the energy for use.
The paper on the Generation of Electricity with the use of speed breakers use the
roller mechanism for producing the electricity by using speed breakers. They replace the
speed breakers with the use of another simple mechanism. When the vehicle pass over the
speed breakers, the rollers in the breakers spin because of the movement of the vehicle on it.
These rollers are already connected with a generator that produce electricity. For every
rotation the roller sends the energy to the generator, which is used for producing the
electricity. This can be used in the bridges of toll booth or in the parking of vehicles (Hossain
et al., 2015).
Research Question
In the today's world, the fuel energy is in great demand. The scarcity of the resources
for the future generation creates a panic mode for the society. Considering both conventional
and non-conventional energy, the electricity demand has been in increasing rate. The
generation of electricity using some innovative techniques has to be introduced. The research
of our project is about producing the electricity using the speed breakers.
The aim of our research is performed to achieve the following goals
 To produce the electricity from the speed breakers in the roads by using an effective
technique called Rack-Pinion mechanism.
 To avoid the scarcity of electricity in future.
 To eliminate the crisis of shortage in using the electrical energy.
 To innovate a new technology for producing the electricity.
 To reduce the cost of energy by using some simple mechanisms to produce electricity
for street lamps which saves the energy in day time and used for lighting the street
lamps in night times.
3. Methodology
The generation of electricity using some innovative techniques has to be introduced.
The research of our project is about producing the electricity using the speed breakers. There
are 4 mechanisms for producing the electricity using the speed breakers that exist in roads.
The name of the mechanisms are as follows
 Roller Mechanism
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 Hydraulic Mechanism
 Crank-Shaft mechanism and
 Rack-Pinion mechanism.
From the above 4 techniques, the most effective technique that can be used for
producing the electricity from the speed breakers is the Rack-Pinion Mechanism (Gupta et
al., 2016).
Rack and Pinion Mechanism
Rack and pinion is the type of gear used for converting the number of rotational
motion into the linear motion (Rack and Pinion Mechanism, n.d.). It is considered as a type of
actuator and it is comprised of two gears. Rotational motion that is being loaded in the pinion
will make the rack to move. The limitation is the distance that it travels. This type of rack and
pinion mechanism is usually used in the steering systems of cars or other vehicles that rely on
steering mechanism. Here in our research, this effective mechanism is used for generating
electricity from the speed breakers of the highways. The produced electricity is useful to
glow the lamps that exist in streets. Considering all other four mechanisms, this rack and
pinion mechanism is considered as a very effective technique. This technique is easy to
manage and the management cost is very effective in this mechanism. This mechanism is
considered as both user friendly and eco-friendly (Sailaja, Raja Roy and Kumar, 2015).
4. Block Diagram for the Generation of the Electricity
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The block diagram for producing the electricity using the speed breakers is
represented in the above diagram. The process can be divided into 6 stages to achieve the
output. The stages that are used in the generation of the electricity is explained below in
detail (Gupta et al., 2016).
Speed Breaker Arrangement
The speed breaker set up is going to be explained in this section. The speed breakers
are arranged in the highways to control the speed of the vehicles that travel through
roadways. The vehicles move upon the speed breaker then the energy called potential energy
is released (Hossain et al., 2015). When the vehicle weight is loaded in the speed breaker,
then the linear motion is received and given to the arrangement of the rack and pinion
(Sailaja, Raja Roy and Kumar, 2015).
Arrangement of Rack, Pinion and Spring
Shafts, pinions and spur gear are arranged for the generation of the electricity (Sailaja,
Raja Roy and Kumar, 2015). The vehicle when touches the speed breaker, a kind of load is
applied on the setup of the speed breaker is then transferred to the arrangements of rack and
pinion. The motion that is applied in the speed breaker is then converted as a motion of rotary
by the use of the arrangement of rack and pinion. The diagram that represents the rack and
pinion mechanism is represented below (Hossain et al., 2015).
Dynamo or Generator
The dynamo or generator plays an important role in the generation of the electricity.
The spring that is to be fixed in the Rack and Pinion is based on the vehicle's weight. There
are two shafts arranged in the spring and is is fixed by the use of a bearing. The shaft is
produced by a steel which is mild in nature. This shaft is attached with a sprocket in it which
is responsible for the rotation. The sprocket in the one end is connected with the another
sprocket which is placed in the other shaft. The shaft that is in lower position contains a gear
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in it. The gear is being fixed in the dynamo and this is responsible for rotating the D.C
generator which is used for generating the electricity (Gupta et al., 2016).
Diode Arrangement
The output energy that is generated using the generator is taken out. This energy is
have to be stored in any device. This electrical energy produced using the dynamo is stored in
the diode which is arranged next to the generator. A diode is used for directing the produced
electric current in a single direction and this is used to avoid the spreading of the energy into
various directions. Diode has both positive and negative ends. The produced electricity is
allowed to flow from the anode end to the cathode end. The diode is used for the conversion
of alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) (Gupta et al., 2016). The diode is
responsible for the conversion process of the current from AC current to DC current
(Study.com, 2017).
Charging the Battery
The storage of energy is then used for charging the battery. Then the battery gets
charged using the direct current passed into it. The battery is then connected with the inverter.
The inverter is used for converting the produced Direct Current into the Alternating Current.
The inverter is capable of converting the 12 voltage D.C current into the Alternating current
of about 230 volt. If the capability of the battery is increased then the rating of the power will
get increased (Gupta et al., 2016).
LED Output
The voltage of about 230 volt is the output given to the LED lights to glow in the
highways. This energy makes the LED in the streets to glow during the night time. The
output from the inverter is made to glow the Light Emitting Diodes. The full arrangement is
arranged in the highways and this arrangement is completely done within the floor. The speed
breaker is the only thing that is arranged above the surface of the land. Thus the working
principle and methodology is explained step by step according to the stages of producing the
electricity (Gupta et al., 2016).
Advantages of the Rack and Pinion Mechanism
 The mechanism of Rack and pinion is more precise as they have only few parts and
fewer pivot points. As the number of parts get reduced then the weight of the rack and
pinion gets reduced.
 This is easy to manage to manage and this mechanism has the immediate response
(Study.com, 2017).
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5. Experimental Setup
The equipment that are required for producing the electricity using the speed breakers
are listed and tabulated below by specifying the name of the manufacturer.
6. R
e
s
u
l
t
s and Outcomes
The weight of the vehicle and height of the speed breaker are to be taken as inputs.
The mass of the vehicle = 600 Kg (Approximate value)
Height of the Speed Breaker = 9 cm
Work done = Force * Distance
Force = mass of the vehicle * 9.81
= 600 * 9.81
= 5886 N
Distance that is travelled by the vehicle = Height of the speed breaker
Height of the speed breaker = 9 cm
Output = Work done per second
= (5886 * 0.09)/60 seconds
= 8.829 Watt
Power that is generated by the one vehicle for 1 minute is about 8.829 Watt
Power produced for 1 hour = 8.829 * 60 = 529.74 Watt
Then the power that can be produced for one day (24 hours) = 529.74 * 24
= 12713.76 Kilo Watt
The results and calculations shows that 12713.76 Kilo Watt Power can be generated
using the vehicles that pass by one speed breaker for one day (Gupta et al., 2016).
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No
.
Equipment Model Manufacturer
1 Rack and Pinion 2000mm stainless
steel
India Mart
2 Shaft and Spring 25 mm or 3/8 drive Alibaba Private Ltd
3 Bearing Bearing 6313 ARB bearings
4 Dynamo or Generator DC Dynamo India Mart

7. Project planning
Electricity generation through speed breaker project planning is given below.
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Gantt chart is shown in below.
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Project tasks are shown in below.
Task Name
Electricity generation through speed
breaker
Project Requirements
Analysis Project Requirements
Prepare Technical Documentation
Assign resources to the Project
M1 Start of the project
C-modelling
Fabrication Details
Fabrication Models showing inner parts
Materials used
Specifications
Accessories Required
Rack and pinion
Sprocket
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