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Ali Pourahmad's Inventions | Category: New inventions in the world | Related: Scientific discoveries and technological inventions
Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires - Using piezoelectricity in automobiles
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
◉ Introduction and objectives:
In this article, we briefly describe the invention of autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires.
Modern cars today are more than just a means of transportation because they are equipped with a variety of complex electronic systems that provide passengers with capabilities that go beyond a simple means of transportation. From safety systems to various fun programs, engine control, navigation, Internet connectivity, and other things, which all of these have become an important part of a car's necessities. On the other hand, technological advances in the electronics industry have led to the use of electronic-based components and devices in cars increasing more than ever. This increase has accelerated with the introduction of various nano-electric equipment and devices, and has become one of the concerns of the inevitable increase in electricity production and consumption in this industry.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
It is clear that with the increasing trend of various small and large electronic components, the need for electricity generation in a car is also increasing. However, with all the limitations of electricity generation in a car, the public demand for cars with more electronic features and options is still increasing. This has made finding new solutions for generating more electricity in a car one of the most important challenges for automakers worldwide. Sensors, actuators, electronic control units, power electronics, communication networks, user interface components, advanced body control BCM and engine ECU, increased safety ESC and ABS, comfort and convenience, navigation and connection of GPS modules, energy management, and autonomous driving are just some of the electronic necessities in a modern and contemporary car.
Now, in addition to the things I mentioned, if we add to the previous set of other necessary electronic sensors (estimating physical quantities) such as: pressure sensors, temperature sensors, proximity sensors, speed sensors, oxygen sensors, position sensors, light sensors, rain sensors, and inertial sensors, which all of which are considered "energy-consuming" factors in a car, then we will truly understand the importance of generating electrical energy in a car. Although new generation batteries have helped to solve this challenge to some extent, but the electricity required to store in the battery can put a strain on the engine and increase fuel and energy consumption, as well as further depreciation of engine parts, which is neither pleasant for the automotive industry nor economical and desirable for the consumer and car owner.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
Most conventional cars are designed to operate with a 12-volt battery with a capacity of 600 amps. In these six-cell batteries, when the battery is fully charged, 12.6 volts of electricity are produced, in other words, a car battery can store from 400 to 1000 amps depending on the type and size of the vehicle, but however, the amount of electricity produced decreases as the battery discharges. Compensating for this reduction in electricity storage in non-electric cars is the responsibility of the alternator, which converts the mechanical energy produced by the diesel engine into electrical energy and charges the battery but in electric cars, battery charging is necessarily the responsibility of various charging stations, which in both types of cars, we are faced with the problem of additional load on the engine and waste of energy and time.
The sum of these problems and concerns for generating electricity in a car (without increasing the additional load on the car engine or increasing fuel and energy consumption) led me to create the idea of generating electricity from the tires of a car for some of the electronic components. In fact, the basic structure of my idea is based on the piezoelectric effect and using the pressure created between two surfaces and converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. In simpler terms, when mechanical stress occurs, electrical charges are generated in some materials or their dimensions change by applying an electric field, which is the process of this reversible phenomenon called the "Direct Piezoelectric Effect".
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
◉ Technical description of the invention:
The piezoelectric effect in some materials (natural or synthetic) arises due to asymmetry in the crystal unit cells and electric dipoles that occur due to mechanical stress and displacement of the material structure. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is a synthetic piezoceramic material with high piezoelectric properties. In addition to it, there are other materials such as lead magnesium niobate (PMN), and lead titanate (PT) that have many applications in the aerospace industry due to their piezoceramic properties. In fact, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is a synthetic, polycrystalline ceramic material that is used (more widely than other piezoelectric materials) in sensors and actuators of space propulsion systems. Natural single crystals such as quartz and tourmaline are also examples of piezoelectric materials in nature, but for a crystal to contain piezoelectric properties, it must not have an internal center of symmetry, although not all eccentric crystalline materials contain complete piezoelectric properties.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
Synthetic ceramic materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and barium titanate are polycrystalline and are not inherently piezoelectric, requiring a DC electric field to align their crystal dipoles in the direction of the electric field and produce piezoelectric properties. The process of aligning the orientation of crystal dipoles is called poling and after this process, the ceramic produces a net dipole moment and it responds linearly to an electric field or mechanical stress. This performance has led to the widespread use of crystals in the structure of various piezoelectric sensors.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
Piezoelectric sensors do not require an external power source because they are able to generate an output signal from the applied physical strain and effectively create and measure compression using the piezoelectric effect. Since piezoelectric sensors are capable of converting physical parameters into electricity, they convert acceleration or physical pressure into an electrical charge that can be measured. Despite their small size, piezoelectric sensors respond very quickly to pressure, and for this reason, in the idea of this invention, I have used a large number of small piezoelectric sensors in parallel around the outer axis of the car tires.
The structure of the "piezoelectric pressure sensors" used in this invention consists of a diaphragm and a piezoelectric crystal. These sensors can be sensitive to any amount of physical pressure and detect its value by moving a thin metal diaphragm. This diaphragm, which is mounted on the sensor, creates pressure on the piezoelectric crystal when bent due to pressure changes. The electric charge that reaches the surface of the crystal will have the opposite polarity and will be proportional to the strain, in other words, as the quartz crystals are compressed, a certain electric voltage is created in proportion to the amount of pressure.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
These piezoelectric sensors work by applying mechanical energy to a crystal, so when pressure is applied to the sensor, a small electric field is created, which leads to a linear relationship between poling and electric field because the field is not enough to align the internal friction and the crystal reacts only as a normal dielectric material. But as the electric field increases, some of the internal friction between the negative regions, whose poling is in the opposite direction of the electric field, shifts to the positive direction of the electric field, and an orientation of the electric charge occurs. This causes a rapid increase in poling, which is caused by the increase in the electric field.
◉ Click on any of the gallery images below to enlarge:
The piezoelectric crystal is sandwiched between two small circular metal plates that are typically in perfect balance. Physical stress or mechanical force is applied to the crystal material by the metal plates, causing the electrical charges in the crystal to shift out of equilibrium and create excess negative and positive charges as crystals on opposite sides. The small circular metal plate then collects these charges, which can ultimately be used to generate voltage and send electrical current through internal circuits to other electronic components in the vehicle.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
As can be seen in the video at the end of this article, the design of car tires consists of several separate parts. On the outer axis of the tire, a set of equipment related to piezoelectric sensors is mounted, and on the inner part of the tire, I have designed the set of electrical charge transfer produced for temporary storage and later use in the electronic circuits of the car. On the outer part of the tire axis, a wide groove in the middle and two parallel grooves on the sides are molded. The middle groove is the location of the rubber strip equipped with piezoelectric sensors, which are placed in pairs and parallel at intervals of 4 centimeters from each other around the outer surface of the strip. The diameter and radius of the annular rubber strip of piezoelectric sensors are such that after being placed (pressed and sealed) in the middle groove, it is aligned and flush with the outer axis of the tire.
The precise alignment of the piezoelectric sensor ring with the outer surface of the tire is an important part of this innovative system because if the surface is not level, the pressure of the vehicle's weight will damage and deform the sensors, which naturally causes the sensors to lose their functionality. By aligning and leveling the piezoelectric sensor ring with the tires, the weight of the vehicle is placed on the density of the tissue outside the groove, and as the tire rotates, there is no pressure on the piezoelectric sensors, so the mechanical stress on the sensor crystal directly depends on the appropriateness of the sensor alignment. At this stage, since the sensors are neutral, no electrical charge is generated. To solve this problem and apply low and controlled pressure to the sensor ring, I designed a "rubber actuator" to create pressure on the center groove of the tire. This "pressure actuator" is in the form of flexible, reactive rubber wings on the outer surface of the tire, molded into a uniform shape and sealed to the tire ring.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
In addition to applying controlled pressure to the piezoelectric sensors, the "pressure actuator" is also responsible for stimulating and charging the vehicle's movement, which reduces the pressure on the engine and consequently reduces fuel consumption. This property is due to the very high elasticity and flexibility and reversibility to the initial state before pressure in this tire, so that when each of the flexible wings reaches the road surface, they are compressed (contracted) and after separating from the road surface, they explosively open (expand) and return to the pre-pressure state. When we equip all four wheels of the car with the explosive opening system of the "pressure actuator", then the car is put in a forward drag state when the double elastic pressure (caused by the operation of the four wheels) is applied. To improve the performance of the forward drag capability, I have also designed two "pressure actuators" with a similar functional system on the two grooves on the sides of each tire so that the jump charge of the expansion pressure of the "actuator" reaches maximum efficiency.
As can be seen in the video of this article, after the piezoelectric sensors are stimulated and an electric charge is generated, the electricity generated is sent through a transfer roller that rotates with the rotation of the car wheel and is placed on a circular copper strip on the inside of the rim to a wire network leading to the Bridge Rectifier module to convert the AC input to DC output. Then, to store energy in a magnetic field, the electric charge is sent to a two-terminal Inductor Coil. Then, to pass the stored electric current in one direction through the two terminals of the anode and cathode, we use a diode, and finally, to store the accumulation of electric charges of two surfaces close to each other that are insulated from each other, we use a two-terminal Capacitor. The electricity generated from this process can be stored in the battery and used to partially consume the electronic circuits of the car, and the burden of generating excess electricity is removed from the dynamo or car battery.
◉ Invention: Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors in the world
At the end of this article, I think it is necessary to mention again that if we stretch or squeeze a piezoelectric crystal, its material structure changes and electric charge appears in the crystal at different levels depending on the type and form of pressure, so understanding the behavior of piezoelectric crystals is very important when designing and using the piezoelectric effect in car tires. Piezoelectric sensors based on the piezoelectric effect can use transverse, longitudinal or shear forces and at the same time are not sensitive to electric fields and electromagnetic radiation. These sensors operate linearly over a wide range of temperature changes, which makes them ideal sensors for environments with variable temperatures, but for applications at very high temperatures, we must use indentation modules, baffle diaphragms or thermal protection covers in this category of sensors. Piezoelectric crystal sensors are suitable for use in moving objects such as car tires because most of these sensors are used to measure dynamic and moving pressure and are generally not useful for measuring static pressure.
Like other inventions, this invention also has the potential for further development and optimization, and using this piezoelectric rubber can significantly help remove limitations in power generation for electronic circuits in all types of vehicles.
End of article//
◉ Video of Autonomous electricity generation in a car using wheels equipped with piezoelectric tires / Category: Inventions by Ali Pourahmad
◉ Animation creator of this video: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Music composer of this video: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Narrator: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Language: English
◉ Subtitles: None
About inventor and author of this article:👇
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