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Thread: Turbines to recharge an electric vehicle

  1. #1
    Associate Engineer
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    Turbines to recharge an electric vehicle

    I saw a video on YouTube from some university that designed an EV concept that uses wind turbines to recharge the battery while the car is moving. Now as a man with some understanding of physics, I assume that the wind turbine on the roof is just a bad idea since it would create way too much drag and make the car unstable.
    So I was wondering, what about wind turbines in the bonnet of an EV? Would the power generated be enough to justify for the extra drag? And would the drag of a turbine in the bonnet be so great that the idea isn't plausible?

  2. #2
    Technical Fellow jboggs's Avatar
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    James, thanks for asking. Don't bother. The whole idea violates basic laws of thermodynamics. The battery power required to move a fan through the air will be less than the power returned from that fan.

  3. #3
    Lead Engineer
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    Alternatively, the use of a combined motor/generator attached to the engine turbocharger is already utilized by the latest Formula One Grand Prix vehicles. When required to provide a quick turbo speed boost the motor cuts in and when a high boost is not require then turbocharger drives the motor/generator to help recharge the batteries. This works in concert with braking regeneration battery charging system on the vehicles.

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