Design and simulation of wind turbine on rail coach for power generation

Abstract

Energy resources in our modern fast paced techno world are fast depleting. Hence a renewable energy source is much required at the moment Wind energy is a renewable source of energy. today, the output power from wind turbines can be utilized in two ways, either by direct use of the mechanical shaft power (through a gear in gear ratio) or by letting the wind turbine power and electrical generator, and utilizing the generated power as electrical power. This paper brings a new possibility for the utilization of the wind generated power, for various electrical components inside a typical railway train through the batteries, charged by the wind energy harnessed by a wind turbine mounted at the top of the train coaches. This setup consists of duct, turbine, and generator. The setup is designed in such a way that it does not affect the performance of the train. Average velocity is estimated for the train and the suitable specification of generator is selected. The theoretical calculations of duct, turbine and pulley parameters are calculated and the whole setup is designed in CATIA, also by varying the inlet air velocity, the speed and torque of the turbine are calculated using CFX software. These parameters are used for calculating generator’s speed and torque and are validated by comparing with the theoretical design calculations. Future advancements are discussed, and a path for experimental verification is proposed.