Abstract

To deal with current Energy related problems Engineers are trying to generate electricity through
each and every possible ways. It is reported that at least 30000 to 40000 tons of Energy is wasted
from vehicles on big cities per road per day. As a result of this, an optional and promising
Energy producing means like Electric Power generation using Speed Breakers from passing by
cars are being implemented. This Proposed Electric Power generating Speed breaker is a device
that will be installed at university entrances, Airports, Hotel gates, check points and High ways.
After generation, evaluation and selection of different possible solutions for the problem, Speed
Breaker that incorporates Roller arrangement is selected to perform an additional service of
generating electricity when touched by moving vehicles. The basic principle behind this Speed
Breaker is simple Energy conversion from Mechanical Energy to Electrical energy by using the
vehicle’s weight (potential energy) & motion (kinetic energy).The speed breaker consists of
rollers on which the vehicles are passing on, roller shafts, V-Belt drive to transmit power from
the roller shaft to the Dc Generator effectively. The Electrical components of the system consists
of 24V Dc Generator, Pure sine wave Inverter to change DC current to AC, Linear Step up
transformer and AGM lead acid storage Batteries. The Speed Breaker is designed to withstand a
total vehicle mass up to 3305Kg including the weight of its passengers. At a time, about264.118
Watt per vehicle can be generated by this system. Considering 50 to 2000 car flow, up to
219,803ETBcan be saved yearly. It is worthy to implement this Speed Breaker so as to support
the national strive towards Energy saving by only less than 71,000ETB of initial cost.
 Acknowledgement
Our first and highest thanks goes to our almighty God for being our strength all the time with his
endless blessings.
We would also like to express our special thanks for our Advisors Mr. Ibrahim and Mr.Abebe
for their continuous guidance, suggestions and advises. We do never forget all the individual’s
effort and support who added value for the successful completion of this project.
Nomenclature (Acronyms)
AC; Alternate current
AGM; Absorbed Glass Matte
EMF; Electromagnetic Field
DC; Direct current
KW; Kilo Watt
NSW; New South Wales
PLC; Programmable Logic Controller
SSB; Smart Speed Breaker
W; Watt
 SYMBOLS
B - Width
Eg - Speed ratio in the gear
Eaxle - Speed ratio in the driver axle
Eo – Overall speed
mr – Mass of roller
Mt -Total mass
n – Number of arms
P – Power
r – Radius of roller
R – Tire radius
S – Distance
t – Thickness of arms
Te – Tractive effort
T - Torque
V – Velocity of rim
W – Load
WD – Work done
WT – Tangential
η – Mechanical efficiency of the engine
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background
Now a day every villages, towns and cities need sufficient electric energy supply for both
residential purposes and service giving places. Electric energy generated from hydroelectric
power station as well as from solar sources is the common energy delivery methods yet in our
country. However, it is obvious that an optional and additional Electric Power generation
methods have to be tried to catch the fast growing demand of the population.
It is obvious that Electric Energy demand of a society is the main issue for any developing
country. According to NSW Roads and Traffic authority, 15000 to 20000 vehicles travel along
each main road every day. This equates to at least 30000 to 40000 tons of wasted Energy per
road per day. Though Ethiopian big cities like Addis Ababa are with that much traffic flow, no
attempt is made to capture the vehicles wasted Energy to utilize for Power generation (This is
according to our interview with the respective authorities in Addis Ababa). It needs a brilliant
Engineering thought and decision to tape this energy for generation of Electric Power.
In this Project Design and Development of Electric Power Generating Road Speed Breaker will
be performed. This method of Electrical Power generation needs no input Electric Power. The
device works by using simple drive mechanism which is Roller Mechanism for this case. The
basic principle is simple Energy conversion from Mechanical Energy to Electrical Energy by
using the vehicles weight (potential energy) & motion (kinetic energy).The speed breaker will
consists of three rollers (two of them are connected with the Generators while one is idle) on
which the vehicles are passing on, Roller shafts, V-Belt drive for effective power transmission
from the Roller to Dc Generator and Pulleys. Electrical Components of the system consists of
two 24V Dc generator, two Pure Sine wave Inverter (to change DC current to AC), Linear Step
up transformer and Six AGM lead acid storage Batteries. As the vehicle passes over this speed
breaker it will activate the rollers to roll. The rotation of the rollers is made to be integrated with
the Dc generators‟ shaft so as to make the generator to work and induces Dc current by the help
of V-Belt. After converting to the induced DC to AC, Linear Step up Transformer is used to
maximize the final output Voltage to 220V. Batter Bank consisting 6 Batteries will be used as an
Energy Storage Device. Each Generator supplies Voltage to 3 Batteries connected in series.
The Speed Breaker is designed to withstand up to a total vehicle mass up to 3305Kg including
the weight of its passengers. At a time, about 264.118 Watt per vehicle can be generated by this
method. Considering 50 to 2000 car flow, up to 219,803ETBcan be saved yearly. It is worthy to
implement this Speed Breaker so as to support the national strive towards Energy saving by only
less than 71,000ETB of initial cost.
This modified Speed Breaker Design will mainly be installed at Airports‟ gate, molls,
universities gate, check stops, Hospitals and some other high ways. The generated electricity will
be applicable for a nearby street lights, Air conditioners, battery charging, signal lights on road,
lightning of bus stops and lightning of check post on high ways.
The project will be done by following the product Design and Development principles (Starting
from customer need identification up to concept selection and detail design).
1.2. Project Mission Statement
Mission Statement: Electric Power Generating Road Speed Breaker.
Key business goals: -To introduce new way of Road Speed Breaker for Ethiopia.
-To support Power (electric) saving strive of the country.
Primary market: Universities, Airports, Hotels, Hospital.
Secondary Market: road construction authorities.

1.2. Statement of Problem

Traffic Accident is becoming national front line problem in Developing Countries including
Ethiopia. To minimize this Accident Speed breakers are being provided at main roads to lower
the vehicle’s Speed at some critical points. It is certain that Vehicles losses much waste energy
when passing over these Speed Breakers. Previous works have shown that it is possible to
capture this waste Energy and uses it for Electric Power generation. Though there are some
works related to Electric Power generation using Road Speed Breakers, It needs greater effort to
advance the technology. It is a time that we should not use a Speed Breaker for reducing speed,
but also tap wasted Car’s Energy and generate Electric Power that can at least power a nearby
street lights, and used for some other applications.

1.3 Objectives of the Project

1.3.1 General Objective
The General Objective of this Project is to Design and Develop an Electric Power Generating
Speed Breaker using Wasted Kinetic Energy of Vehicles at Check stops, high ways, Airports‟
car gates, Universities and cafeteria gates using Roller Mechanism for different applications.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives

The specific Objective of this work includes:
 To develop and design a Power generating Speed Breaker after evaluating different
mechanisms (concepts),
 To provide a step up transformer so as to increase the generated Electric Energy,
 To Estimate the daily, monthly and yearly Power generating capacity of Electric Power
generating Speed Breaker.
 To estimate the Money that the country can save by using this alternative Energy
Generation method
 To draw the proposed design on Solid Work design software

1.3.3. Scope
This Electric Power generating Speed Breaker is applicable in main roads along small and
medium sized Vehicles line. It can also be used in main gates of different institutions.

1.3.4. Limitation of the system

This project works up to total vehicle mass of 3305 kg including passenger’s weight. Installed at
university gates, main road at light and medium weight travel line with caution sign provided
some meters before the speed breaker.
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
These days Electricity is the major need for all developing countries. Our country, Ethiopia
needs adequate and continuous power supply to meet its plan towards industrialization.
Generation of Electrical Energy from a passing by vehicles over speed breaker is one
conventional means that enables a nation to support its challenging and highly growing power
demand. Speed Breakers are provided on main roads to lower a coming by car speed. It is
observed that, there is a possible way to make the Speed Breaker to generate Electric Energy by
using different material and arrangement.
The First one to make use of speed breaker for power generation were South African people.
Their electrical crisis has made them to implement this method to light up small villages of the
highway using basic physics. The idea is that a conversion of Mechanical Kinetic Energy in to
Electrical Energy that gone wasted when the vehicle runs over speed-breaker. A Power Hump
arrangement housed under a dome comprising of Electro-Mechanical unit is used to Produce
Electric Power from the wasted kinetic Energy(1).
There is another recorded data that revels that a Ramp was invented by Peter Hughes, in the year
2002 an electrical and mechanical engineer who is employed by Highway Energy Systems Ltd.
Under normal traffic conditions, this apparatus will produce 30 kW of electricity (2).
An experiment had been conducted in the parking lot of Sainsbury grocery store in June 2009 by
setting up a device to get sufficient amount of energy for operating the cash registry all over the
store. When a car passes over the ramp, the ramp gets pressed, activating an alternator that
charges an accumulator. The prototype was created & tested at Hughes Research unit at the
Westland Helicopter base in Somerset, at a cost of £1million(3).
In the year 2012 (May), Wail Adaileh and his other two friends introduced a new technique for
generating energy from the waste kinetic energy of the vehicles at low speed. The invention is
based on the principle of drum rotation due to low movement of the vehicles driven at low speed
at different places such as moles, hotels, universities entrance and fast meals gates. The
generated electricity has been utilized for different types of applications mainly for street
lighting, domestic uses such as air conditioning, lighting, heating. The researchers analyzed that.
There is no possibility to failure or yielding of shaft under loading and the drum is more strength
to bending and other forms of stress. The effective rotational drum speed (n = 35 rpm) at which
the system starts to charging is increased as the weight of the Vehicle increases.
In the work, it was found that the friction between the tire and the drum increases when the
vehicle weight increases. The reported results indicated that only about 10% of vehicle attractive
effort is needed to generate a sizable amount of electrical energy from a car running at minimum
effective speed of 20 Km/hr.

Figure 1: Power generation from Roller type Speed breaker

On a paper “Generating Electricity through Harnessing of Kinetic Energy Using a Ramp” in
2013, TehseenIlahi, and his friends designed a devise, which consists of a slab that is pressed
down by the vehicle. When it passes over slab translation motion is produced. The crank is
attached to a system, which contains Gearbox, Flywheel & Alternator. For the storing purpose, a
Battery is attached to the Alternator. Inverter is placed with the Battery and a Load Bank is also
attached. Allen Bradley SLC 5/03 PLC is used for monitoring & controlling of the system and a
PC Based HMI is connected with it for displaying the process. Whole system is fully automated
with programmable logic controller PLC and some other Software’s are used for Automation.
Electrical Energy produced by this system is about 126 W and it has an Efficiency of 71.15
%.The paper has put a suggestion of how we can increase the efficiency of this system as: Using
more than one crank in the system so as to drive more alternators, designing the crank in such a
way that it gives more rotation per push, using more effective alternators and inverters for less
Power losses and for cost effectiveness microcontroller can replace the control unit.(3)

Figure 2: Generating Electricity through Harnessing of Kinetic Energy of Vehicles

Suchirpatil, Mithun das etal designed a speed breaker which is a kind of automated traffic control
system and published it on a Research paper titled as “Design and Development of Smart Speed
Breaker(SSB)” in 2014. The system constitutes sensors, a set of gears, springs and ramp made of
honeycomb structure. The objective of this design is to control the traffic and make people
follow the traffic rules with ease. The first set of sensors is placed before the SSB. These sensors
determine the speed of the moving vehicle. The speed limit is set by the traffic police. This
predefined speed is compared with the vehicle speed. If vehicle speed is less than the predefined
speed, then vehicle pushes the SSB down without the feel of bump and hence moves in a
smoother way. If speed of vehicle is more than predefined speed, the ratchet is actuated, locks
the movement of SSB and thus the bump is felt to the vehicle. The SSB lets the traffic only in
one direction hence reducing traffic jam problems and rash driving. In multilane roads, the SSB
is placed separately on each lane to regulate the speed (5)
Another work on road power generation is made by B. Santosh Sarma1 et al. In this Mechanism,
a roller is fitted in between a speed breaker and some kind of a grip is provided on the speed
breaker so that when a vehicle passes over speed breaker it rotates the roller. This movement of
roller is used to rotate the shaft of D.C. generator by the help of chain drive, which is there to
provide different speed ratios. As bike and the roller ran the shaft of D.C.Initially, the set up got
the rotatory motion. With that rotation, a single DC generator is able to light up a LED setup of
12V. Even if there is an anti-direction rotation by the roller, the negative voltage is converted
using bridge circuit. Losses can be minimized by reducing the number of electrical connections
and use mechanical connections wherever possible. Considering the cost factor, components of
maximum efficiency must be used. Like NiMH, batteries can be used as they are the most
efficient among the rechargeable batteries (2).

Figure 3: Electric Power generation from roller mechanism A

B. Aravind Reddy et al. made a research titled by “Modified design of speed breaker for power
generation”. This study mainly emphasis on increasing the shaft rotation with the help of the
ribbon spring and the gear arrangement, which will tend to recoil as soon as it gets uncoiled. The
recoil ribbon spring designed in such a way that it can bear heavy loads and gives the outward
force in order to retain its original shape and structure. One more main aspect of the shaft is that
the backward motion is restricted. Because the recoil spring need some stationary reference to
get uncoiled. For this condition to be achieved free wheel is arranged at one end of the shaft
which restricts the backward motion (6).
M. Mari Durai proposed A Road speed breaker assembly system that uses crankshaft in 2017
(„Using Road Speed Breakers to Extract Electric Power‟). In this system, a reciprocating motion
is converted into rotating motion and uses gears assembly to run the D.C motors to produce
electricity. The piston assembly parts consist of speed breaker, crankshaft, connecting rod, gears,
and D.C motors. The speed breaker goes on up and downward motion and crankshaft converted
in to reciprocating motion is converted into rotating motion through connected turbine unit to run
the turbine to produce electricity without any environmental pollutions. It is possible to develop
23.544 Kilowatts Power developed in a single day using this Speed breaker (7).

Figure 4: working assembly of Crank shaft type speed breaker

A recent work (2017) states that, Generation of electricity is possible using road track, as
vehicles pass over roller mechanism set up electricity can be produced. This was the work of
student VaibhavBarot with his friends assisted by Professor Viranchi Shastri. Some Authors
stresses that, unlike conventional speed bumps, the roller mechanism set up will not damage the
car or waste petrol while driving the car over the rollers. It is reported that this kind of Electro-
Kinetic power generator is capable of generating around 10kW of electricity, which can then be
used to power road signs, traffic lights and street lights or stored in batteries for future use The
movement of the rollers drives a specially developed design, which in turn drives a generator to
produce electricity.
It is also seen in this design work that about 50-70 %Energy loss happens in the battery in the
alternator/dynamo, in the converter (which converts ac to dc), in the voltage regulator. Reducing
the number of electrical connections and use mechanical connections as much as possible is one
of the loss minimization measure suggested in the paper(8).
In a Research titled as “Electrical Power Generation by Roller” Ms. Kamal J, an experimental
data was taken by using two-wheeler vehicle for different types of load (kg) where loads are
varied by changing the number of persons on vehicle. It is seen that terminal voltage and output
power increase proportionally with the vehicle load(9).
Mesfin Fanuel Kebede (a student from Addis Ababa University) made a study on the design,
modeling and simulation of an electromechanical system for producing electrical power from
kinetic energy of vehicle passing over speed breakers. A vehicle drives the Speed breaker power
generation unit on the road, which acts as a prime mover for power generation. The system is
described in terms of the dimensions of the rack and ratchet. The pulley structure combined with
a flywheel is geared to DC generators for inducing EMF, which leads to power generation
Further, it is found that the total power generated from the rotational induction generators is 691
kW while that from the translational induction generators is8.2922 kW per day on 12-hour basis
(1).
The paper made by Mesfin Fanuel Kebede has reported that the Electric Power generating speed
Breaker has been designed to withstand a maximum of 2000N which is less than the average
small car’s weight.
In this Paper it will be tried to present a Conceptual Development and Design work on Electric
power generating Speed Breaker that can withstand 3305 Total vehicle mass including the
weight of 17 passengers (Minibus Car is taken for this Design).
Maximum Power generation ways will be tried to be implemented by making some
arrangements on the system and Mechanism change.

CHAPTER THREE
CONCEPT GENERATION

3.1. The Product Development Process

In order to select the best quality Electric Power generating Speed Breaker a product
development process should be followed. A process is a sequence of steps that transforms a set
of inputs into a set of outputs. A product development process is the sequence of steps or
activities that a designer has to conceive, design, and commercialize a product.

Fig1. Product Development Process

The following is the definition of Product Development Process phases that comes after planning
and which we are going to follow for the development of Power generating speed breaker:
 Concept development: In the concept development phase, the needs of the target market
are identified, alternative product concepts are generated and evaluated, and one or more
concepts are selected for further development and testing.
 System-level design: The system-level design phase includes the definition of the
product architecture, decomposition of the product into subsystems and components, and
preliminary design of key components.
 Detail design: The detail design phase includes the complete specification of the
geometry, materials, and tolerances of all of the unique parts in the product and the
identification of all of the standard parts to be purchased from suppliers.
 Testing and refinement: The testing and refinement phase involves the construction and
evaluation of multiple preproduction versions of the product.
  Production ramp-up: In the production ramp-up phase, the product is made using the
intended production system. The purpose of the ramp-up is to train the workforce and to
work out any remaining problems in the production processes.

3.2. Conceptual Design

A concept is a description of the form, function, and features of a product and is usually
accompanied by a set of specifications, an analysis of competitive products, and an economic
justification of the project. Conceptual Design is the phase that requires the greatest creativity,
involves the most uncertainty, and requires coordination among many functions in the business
organization. The goal in this phase is to validate the need, produce a number of possible
solutions, and evaluate the solutions based on physical reliability, economic worthwhileness, and
financial feasibility as the Definition of Dieter, G.E., (1991).

3.3. Customer Need identification

Road and Transport authority offices and Drivers are the main customers for Speed breakers in
which we can get the need associated with this issue. The process of identifying customer needs
is an integral part of product development process and is related to concept generation, concept
selection, bench marking and establishing target specifications.
Identifying customer needs is a process divided into the following phases:
 Gather raw data from customers (VOC)
 Interpret raw data in terms of customer needs
 Establish relative importance of needs
 Reflect on the result and process
According to our survey, customers need a speed breaker that has the following advantages:
 There should be no damage to vehicles or excessive discomfort to the drivers and
passengers when passing at the preferred crossing speed.
 There should be no excessive noise or cause harmful vibrations to the adjoining
buildings or affect the other residents of the area.
  Above the design speed, a driver should suffer increasing level of discomfort (but
without losing directional control and without any vehicle damage) depending on the
extent through which design speed is exceeded.
 For Power generating speed breaker it has to have high Power generation capacity
 Minimum number of parts are preferable
 has ease of operation and maintenance

3.4. Decomposition in to main function and Sub function

Complex problems are decomposed into simpler sub-problems to solve the problem easily and
accurately. The following is the main function of the Speed Breaker system with the input and
output diagram.

Figure 5: Main function of the speed breaker with inputs and inputs (Black Box Method)

3.5. Concept generation

Under this, possible concepts must be generated to achieve the customer needs and to improve
the problem stated at statement of problems. Concept generation includes a mix of external
search, creative problem solving, and systematic exploration of the various solution fragments.
There are five steps to be followed during concept generation stage, these are:

 Clarify the problem

 Search externally
 Search internally
 Explore systematically
  Reflect on the solution and the Process
This method breaks a complex problem into simpler sub problems. Solution concepts are then
identified for the sub problems by external and internal search procedures. Classification trees
and concept combination tables are then used to systematically explore the space of solution
concepts and to integrate the sub problem solutions into a total solution. Finally, the designer
takes a step back to reflect on the validity and applicability of the results, as well as on the
process used. The following chart shows the stage of Power generating Speed Breakers with
their few respective suitable methods.

Figure 6: Power generation stage with different concepts

Generated Concepts
Concept 1: Roller Mechanism
 Figure 7: Concept one, Roller Mechanism

Concept 2: Sliding Plate mechanism

Figure 8: Concept 2, Sliding Plate mechanism

Concept 3: Rack and Pinion Mechanism

 Figure 9: Concept three, Rack & Pinion mechanism

3.6. Concept Selection

Concept selection is the process of evaluating concepts with respect to customer needs and other
criteria, comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the concepts, and selecting one or
more concepts for further investigation, testing, or development.

3.6.1. Concept screening

The purpose of this stage is to narrow the number of concepts quickly and to improve the
concepts. The next selection matrix is prepared to screen and select the proposed concepts for
Power Generating Speed Breaker.
To select the concepts+, 0, –coding will be used for its simplicity and quickness.
Selection criteria Mechanism
Roller Sliding Rack and pinion

Easy to maintain - + -
Uses light material + 0 -
Power producing capacity + - -
Fits to different cars + 0 -
Disassembled easily + - -
Low cost material + - -
Low complexity of parts + - -
Low number of assembled parts + - -
Easily assembled and disassembled + 0 -
Effect of vibration - + 0
Simple mechanism 0 0 0
Ease of design + - -
durability + - -
Service life + - -
Sum of’’+’’ 11 2 0
Sum of’’-’’ 2 8 12
Sum of’’0’’ 1 3 2
Net score 9 -6 -12
Rank 1 2 3

Continue Yes No No

Table 1: Concept-screening matrix to select the Speed Breaker mechanism

The denotations are:

  + for “better than,”
 0 for “same as” and
 – For “worse than”.

Selection criteria Type of drive

Chain and Gear belt
sprocket
Low cost - - +
Power transmission capacity + 0 0
Ease of installation and removal - - +
Ability to work in adverse condition + - -
Ease of manufacture - - +
Ease of maintenance - - +
compactness - + -
Quite operation - - +
efficiency - + -
Ability to cushion shocks and vibrations - - +
Sum of’’+’’ 2 2 6
Sum of’’-’’ 8 7 3
Sum of’’0’’ 0 1 1
Net score -6 -5 3
Rank 3 2 1
Continue No No Yes
Based on the above criteria the best concept for Power generating speed breaker will be selected.

 For the mechanism: Roller mechanism

 For the power transmission means/drive to the generator: belt drive will be used
This means A Speed Breaker that uses Roller mechanism for power generation with belt drive is
found to be the best solution for the need.
Accordingly, the main components of Roller type power generating speed breaker are:

 Roller
 Transformer
 Belt drive
 Inverter
 Bearing supports
 Battery
 Generator
 Keys
 Bearings
 Pulleys
 Shaft

3.6.2. Component Selection

Weighted decision matrix is one evaluation method to select the components of the machine. A
decision matrix is a method of evaluating competing concepts by ranking the design criteria with
weighting factors and scaling the degree to which each design concept meets the criterion. Here
the following decision matrix shows on what criteria did the components selected.

The principle behind the weight is that, the sum of all the weights given for each concept is equal
to unity.