CHANNELS

Aerospace

Automotive

Automated & Autonomous Vehicles

Battery & Electrification Technology

Defense

Drone TV

Electronics

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Materials

Medical

Motion Control

RF & Microwave Technology

Robotics & Automation

Sensors & IoT

Test & Measurement

Aerospace
Automotive
Automated & Autonomous Vehicles
Battery & Electrification Technology
Defense
Drone TV
Electronics
Manufacturing & Prototyping
Materials
Medical
Motion Control
RF & Microwave Technology
Robotics & Automation
Sensors & IoT
Test & Measurement
Aerospace & Defense
Search Results

A Self-Powered Trailer

Purdue University researchers are in collaboration with trailer manufacturer Wabash on an experimental tractor-trailer that recaptures its own electricity from vibrations, heat, and airflow. The work could make enormous strides in the name of sustainability. Watch this video to learn more.

“We’re investigating several ways to harvest electricity from a trailer’s normal operation,” said James Gibert  , associate professor of mechanical engineering and one of the project’s principal investigators. “These modalities could be the vibration of the suspension system, aeroelastic vibrations of the composite panels, or harvesting the air used in the braking system.”

Topics:
Automotive Automotive Electrification Power Transportation

More From SAE Media Group

    Transcript

    00:00:00 -With Wabash we're trying to develop a  trailer that extracts energy from its   environment to actually power itself. And  we're doing this from different modalities:   suspension system, aeroelastic vibrations of  composite panels, and the braking system also.  -Nothing speaks to being a  visionary leader more than   having a trailer that's using composite  matrix materials to create electricity,   in this age of sustainability and finding  new ways to reduce carbon in our environment.  -There's an increasing regulatory push  to be energy efficient, especially   for semis and semi-trailers. And so this  is a project to get a step ahead of that,   to see what is possible and to think outside  the box, and not limit ourselves to just one   type of energy harvesting system. The plan is  basically to drive it over different routes in  

    00:00:46 different weather conditions. We're outfitting  the trailer with different types of sensors:   displacement sensors, anemometers, accelerometers,  pressure gauges. Basically we want to know what   sources give us the biggest bang for the buck. -That trailer sitting in Herrick Labs   right now, that's a game-changing event.  Partnering with a school like Purdue allows   these types of visionary actions to come to  life. There's no place else we'd rather be.  -Wabash has been a dream to work with. They're  active, they're engaged, they support,   they ask great questions, they're almost  immediate in giving feedback. I would like   to see it implemented at large scale and  become a paradigm for semi-trailer systems.