Feasibility studies of micro wind turbines installed on electric vehicles as range extenders using real-time analytical simulation with multi driving cycles scenarios

Abstract

The proposed work aims to generate electricity by utilising the air flowing around the vehicle through the micro wind turbines (MWTs). In this case, the electricity produced can be used to charge up the battery or power up additional vehicle accessories, which increases the efficiency or/and range of the vehicle. Three driving cycles have been conducted to examine the model’s performance in moderate, highly dynamic and highway driving scenarios. The analytical works resulted in an 8.38%, 4.6% and 1.01% efficiency increase for the case of the Highway driving cycle (FTP), the new European driving cycle (NEDC) and the standardisation random test aggressive driving cycle (RTS), respectively when adding the micro wind turbines model. In terms of range analysis, 16, 11 and 2 km of the range were added to the full battery charge range of the vehicle when the vehicle was simulated for the case FTP, NEDC and RTS driving cycles scenarios, respectively. The results conclude that the value of micro wind turbines is shimming with highway driving scenarios where the effect of regenerative braking is absent and the drag force acting on the vehicle is at its highest rate.