The effect of the angle of a bicycle wheel relative to a car on the voltage induced due to its rotation
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physics
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Oral Presentation Award
2nd Place
Written Paper Award
1st Place
Abstract
When a bicycle is connected to the back of a car with a bike rack, the bicycle’s wheels spin while the car is in motion due to the wind coming over the top of the car. This accessible mechanical energy is most often wasted. The purpose of this research was to try to reuse that mechanical energy as a raw “generator” to produce electricity for the car through Faraday’s law. It was hypothesized that if the bike wheel was angled at 30 degrees, then more voltage would be induced than if the wheel were angled in other positions. Data was collected by manipulating the angle of the wheel via the straps of the bike rack and then spacing 24 magnets equally around the wheel. A coil was placed next to the wheel so that the magnets would pass under it as the wheel rotated. The coil was connected to an oscilloscope which showed the waveforms of the voltage that was induced each time a magnet passed under the coil. The hypothesis that the 30 degree configuration would induce more voltage than other configurations was supported. The 30 degree angle configuration induced significantly larger voltages than any other angle configuration tested for both directions at α = 0.05, F(3, 116) = 1525.04, p < 0.001 (North) and α = 0.05, F(3, 116) = 1670.01, p < 0.001 (South), respectively. It was concluded that tilting the wheel at an angle parallel to the curvature of the car (in this case, 30 degrees) would maximize the induced voltage for the contraption and thus would be most efficient for future application.
Recommended Citation
Stark, Aaron, "The effect of the angle of a bicycle wheel relative to a car on the voltage induced due to its rotation" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 186.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/186
Location
Neville 306
Start Date
4-14-2018 10:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
The effect of the angle of a bicycle wheel relative to a car on the voltage induced due to its rotation
Neville 306
When a bicycle is connected to the back of a car with a bike rack, the bicycle’s wheels spin while the car is in motion due to the wind coming over the top of the car. This accessible mechanical energy is most often wasted. The purpose of this research was to try to reuse that mechanical energy as a raw “generator” to produce electricity for the car through Faraday’s law. It was hypothesized that if the bike wheel was angled at 30 degrees, then more voltage would be induced than if the wheel were angled in other positions. Data was collected by manipulating the angle of the wheel via the straps of the bike rack and then spacing 24 magnets equally around the wheel. A coil was placed next to the wheel so that the magnets would pass under it as the wheel rotated. The coil was connected to an oscilloscope which showed the waveforms of the voltage that was induced each time a magnet passed under the coil. The hypothesis that the 30 degree configuration would induce more voltage than other configurations was supported. The 30 degree angle configuration induced significantly larger voltages than any other angle configuration tested for both directions at α = 0.05, F(3, 116) = 1525.04, p < 0.001 (North) and α = 0.05, F(3, 116) = 1670.01, p < 0.001 (South), respectively. It was concluded that tilting the wheel at an angle parallel to the curvature of the car (in this case, 30 degrees) would maximize the induced voltage for the contraption and thus would be most efficient for future application.
