#Road Construction – Electro Kinetic Road Ramp

April 29, 2020

Digital wave is everywhere. World has been taken over by digital wave. Many industries embracing digital innovations so as roads and transportations also. ‘Smart roads’ or ‘Smart highways’ are the road to the future.

The electro-kinetic road ramp is a method of generating electricity by harnessing the kinetic energy of automobiles that drive over the ramp. As a car passes over a speed breaker most of kinetic energy is wasted as heat in it. By conserving this kinetic energy and generating electricity, we can supply this energy to the urban and remote areas for lightning purposes.

In June 2009, one of the devices was installed in the car park at a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Gloucester, United Kingdom where it provides enough electricity to run all of the store's cash registers. The ramp was invented by peter Hughes, an electrical and mechanical engineer who is employed by Highway Energy System Ltd. This company says that under normal traffic conditions, the apparatus will produce 30 KW of electricity. Other proposed applications for the road ramps include powering streets and traffic lights, heating roads in the winter to prevent ice from forming and ventilating tunnels to reduce pollution.

Let’s understand how it works.

There is a system called Road Power Generation (RPG) which is designed to capture waste and kinetic energy from all devices. This device converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electric energy. This is done by pressure plates installed on the ramp.

First moving car pass over the ramp and at that time because due to pressure loads plates which is installed on the ramp will be pressed down. These all plates are connected to shaft using Rack and Pinion mechanism. Then Rack and Pinion mechanism convert the linear motion of pressure plate into angular motion and rotates shaft. Shaft is connected to Gearbox. This Gear Box is connected to flywheel and DC alternator.Alternator converts the rotational energy to electrical energy. As a result, it produces electricity. And it stored in batteries.

With the help of inverter at the time of need this DC energy can be converted into AC energy and passed on.

By using this technology we can solve problem of scarcity of energy to some extent that too without any harm to the environment.

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