Energy Harvesting System for Bicycles

2021 ELE Engineering Design Project (DX06)

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Faculty Lab Coordinator

David Xu

Topic Category

Consumer Products/Applications

Preamble

As the population increases and the cities get bigger, the use of bicycles is more common in today’s society. More and more people are relying on bicycles as a means of transportation in big cities. Creating a small electrical system is more and more important for the riders to use their phones and other electronic devices. Energy harvesting from the bicycle will enable the operation of the small electrical system.

Objective

The project aims to design a energy harvesting system to power the electronic devices for the riders. The system includes a DC motor attached to the bicycle, electronic controller and a battery storage.

Partial Specifications

The specifications of the project are:
1) Design mechanical system to attach the DC motor to the bicycles. The DC motor should be able to output a maximum power of 20W.
2) Design an electronic converter to convert the power from the DC motor to be a regulated 5V output.
3) Design a power bank using 18650 battery to store the energy. The power bank should be able to output 10W each via two USB ports.

Suggested Approach

The group should investigate the DC motor available in the market to determine the proper mounting mechanism to the bicycles. The group should be familiar with the power electronics DC-DC converters to regulate the output voltage. It also necessary to know the operating principle of the power bank.

Group Responsibilities

The group should be responsible for project management, project demo and project reports.

Student A Responsibilities

Student A is responsible for the design and selection of DC motor.

Student B Responsibilities

Student B is responsible for the mounting mechanism of the DC motor to the bike

Student C Responsibilities

Student C is responsible for the DC-DC voltage regulator

Student D Responsibilities

Student D is responsible for the design of power bank.

Course Co-requisites

ELE754

To ALL EDP Students

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, in the event University is not open for in-class/in-lab activities during the Winter term, your EDP topic specifications, requirements, implementations, and assessment methods will be adjusted by your FLCs at their discretion.