Power Generation using Railway Track

Description

Man has needed and used energy at an increasing rate for his sustenance and well-being ever since he came on the earth a few million years ago. Primitive man required energy primarily in the form of food. He derived this by eating plants or animals, which he hunted. Subsequently he discovered fire and his energy needs increased as he started to make use of wood and other bio mass to supply the energy needs for cooking as well as for keeping himself warm.

With the passage of time, man started to cultivate land for agriculture. He added a new dimension to the use of energy by domesticating and training animals to work for him. With further demand for energy, man began to use the wind for sailing ships and for driving windmills, and the force of falling water to turn water for sailing ships and for driving windmills, and the force of falling water to turn water wheels.

Energy conservation is the cheapest new source of energy. It is an attractive technology for optimal use of available sources. This project attempts to show how energy can be tapped and used at a commonly used system, the railway system. The railway network in India is growing day by day. There is possibility of tapping the energy and generating power by making the railway tracks as a power generation unit.

A large amount of kinetic energy is wasted at the railway system when the trains pass over a particular section of tracks. In this project, we will be demonstrating a spring suspension system on which a train can pass over and power can be generated using rack and pinion mechanism.