Wind turbine on the front of a car.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Brent Singleton,of Ogden,Utah has a 'Quadbrid' Ford Escort (hybrid,solar,and wind-powered) that he pulls a hybrid LSR racer to Bonneville with..............International Alternative Fuels Racing Association,International Alternative Fuels Racing Association.

Wind power is not a category on that site, but if you click on electricity they mention a wood chip burning car.

International Alternative Fuels Racing Association - Alternative Fuels Technology

Brent Singleton
Utah scientific: Utah duo create 'quadbrid' vehicle | Deseret News

His dad added that with the wind-driven propellers, when the car sits in the school parking lot, the batteries are being recharged by wind. "It's the same thing with the solar panels, too," he added.

Jamesqf, I don't have a formula, I was encouraging you to develop your own based on your skill set. I am not discouraging you, just asking you to take the initiative. Should be a fun exercise if nothing else, right?

I found another forum where a similar question was asked back in 2007

https://www.physicsforums.com/thread...-a-car.180442/

The responses there are very similar to the ones posted here.

Sample:

hat depends what you mean by "wind". It is certainly possible to attach a sail to a set of wheels and have the ambient wind blow you around. That would cetainly be efficient. On the other hand, if you mean the wind generated by the car moving through the air, then the engine creates that motion by moving the car forward. By capturing that wind to extract energy, you are slowing the car down and making the engine work harder. Even using the energy you extract, you will use *more* gas than you do now. That is to say, the system is less efficient than existing cars.

Reference https://www.physicsforums.com/thread...-a-car.180442/

Hersbird's link to the wired.com article does pose another option. What if we start with one of these land sail vehicles and turn it into a gasoline hybrid? Could there be some combination under certain conditions where the physics of it becomes advantageous? An interesting proposition to say the least.

[Grant-53]

Same as a sailboat with an auxiliary engine.

[freebeard]

I can't copy and paste on this tablet; so just Google 'sailbus'.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by kach22i

What if we start with one of these land sail vehicles and turn it into a gasoline hybrid? Could there be some combination under certain conditions where the physics of it becomes advantageous? An interesting proposition to say the least.

Certainly. In fact, I know just the place: US 395 south of Reno, where you frequently have crosswinds of 30-40 mph or more. (The "Washoe Zephyr" described by Mark Twain: Mark Twain quotations - Zephyr ) If you regularly commuted between say Carson City & Reno, a nice retractable wing/sail could do wonders for fuel economy :-)

[aerohead]

That's really fun!
*it's like the 15-mph tailwind/'turbine' is the Savonius rotor
* which 'starts' the 27.7-mph 'Darius rotor' impeller.
*the whole car's mass is a flywheel
*the lift generated from the spinning airfoil provides the thrust for acceleration
*the rear axle fairing and venturi between the vertical turbine supports enhanced horizontal 'lift'.
*top speed is reached when lift = drag
*Exquisite!

[Fingie]

How about making sime flaps and utilise the turbine as a airbrake instead.

It is a friendly solution to the law of physics.

[Xist]

I always think of Kitt's air brake from Night Rider.

[GreenSquirrel]

We aren't the first and certainly won't be the last, it isn't a dumb idea, you can produce some pretty good sparks with 60MPH winds and an alternator. There was a university recently that had a car that used a huge turbine mechanically connected to the wheels and pushed into the wind, it worked (wouldn't be feasible for a real car). This concept of developing energy while burning it is something that deserves attention, the possibility of having an electric car that can cross the country without constant recharging would change everything. To put this in perspective, there are plans for aircraft 2-3 generations from now that would use electric turbines (powered by batteries) to generate thrust for takeoff, then glide and generate electricity to charge the batteries, discharge/thrust, glide-recharge until it reaches its destination. I was thinking of using a series of squirrel cage fans with only a fraction of the blades exposed to oncoming wind to generate electricity to directly run the motor(s) (recharge batteries while coasting).

[Xist]

Someone once pointed out to me that regenerative braking is still braking--you recover energy, but with a significant loss. Wherever possible, it is always better to plan ahead, so that you do not need to brake.

I do not have any idea about an aircraft that could pulse and glide, braking regeneratively; it just seems the same as a car, you burn energy to accelerate, and then try to recover it with a loss.

[Xist]

Braking turns money into pollution.