INTRODUCTIONFuel usage is increasing day by day & fuel scarcity will be maximum in future. Country like India may not have the chance to use petroleum products. Keeping this dangerous situation in mind we tried to make use of non-pollutant natural resource of energy for generating electrical power. Till this time, it would not be wrong to say that the sun was supplying all the energy needs of man either directly or indirectly and that man was using only renewable sources of energy.

In FOOT STEP POWER GENERATION SYSTEM the generation of electricity is carried out by simply applying a force on the foot step through human foot. For generating this electrical power man doesnt need any fuel input. Just by simply walking or exercising on the steps the power is generated. This is a Non-conventional energy system that cannot use any fuel input for the generation of electrical power. It is a pollution free power generation.

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BASIC PRINCIPLE

The complete diagram of the foot step power generation is given below. Only one step is inclined to an angle of 45 which is used to generate the power. The pushing power is converted into electrical energy by proper driving arrangement.

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COMPONENTS

The block diagram of the foot step power generation is shown in figure. The main components of the FOOT STEP POWER GENERATION SYSTEM are,

Foot Step arrangement Compression springs Rack and pinion arrangement Ball bearings Chain sprocket Fly wheel Spur Gear arrangement D.C generator Battery Inverter Circuit and Light Arrangement

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BLOCK DIAGRAM

Block Diagram of Foot Step Power Generation

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DESCRIPTION

Foot Step Power Generation System

Foot Step Arrangement:This is the main arrangement for the movement of all the parts. The foot step arrangement is fabricated with mild steel and it is inclined with an angle of 45 and having hinged supports for up and down motion. It is supported by the conical compression springs. For the foot step arrangement the Rack and Pinion mechanism is arranged. The pinion is fixed to the shaft by the supporting of bearings on casing and rack is fixed to the foot step. When the foot step is pressed rack will be moved in downward direction. Due5

to contact of rack and pinion gear mechanism the pinion will be rotated with respect to their bearings. On the same shaft of pinion larger sprocket will be placed. The motion will be transferred from the larger sprocket of the shaft to the smaller sprocket of another shaft with the help of chain drive. Fly wheel and larger gear will be placed on the same shaft of the smaller sprocket, which are also rotating with respect to chain drive. Larger gear will be in contact with the smaller gear which is arranged to the shaft of generator.

Compression Springs:Compression Springs are open-coil helical springs that offer resistance to a compressive force applied axially. Helical compression springs are used to resist applied compression forces or to store energy in a push mode. The main aim of this arrangement is to transverse motion from the foot step to the Generator. The purpose of chain sprocket is to rotate the generator only in one direction with respect to the motion of the pinion. Fly wheel is used to store the energy & increases the revolutions of the larger gear. Due to the larger gear is in contact with the smaller gear the rotation motion of smaller gear will be increased. Compression springs are designed to resist linear compressing forces or pushing forces.

Rack And Pinion Arrangement:Rack and pinion gears are used to convert linear motion into rotation. A rack and pinion gears system is composed of two gears. The normal round gear is the pinion gear and the straight or flat gear is the rack. The rack has teeth cut into it and they mesh with the teeth of the pinion gear.

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This is the main part in this foot step power generation system. Because the rotation motion can be initiated by this rack and pinion arrangement. This rack & pinion mechanism is attached to the inclined foot step with the nut & bolt for the maximum down movement of the rack .A roller support is also provided for the safe movement of the rack.

Chain Sprocket Arrangement:This is having a cycle chain sprocket. The bigger sprocket is fixed to the pinion shaft & the smaller sprocket is coupled with another larger gear shaft by the chain. The chain converts rotational power to pulling power, or pulling power to rotational power, by engaging with the sprocket. The main advantage include by this chain sprocket is to give only one side rotation motion with respect to the motion of the pinion. This is very useful for the generator to rotate only one side.

Flywheel:The primary function of fly wheel is to act as energy accumulator. It is heavy rotating body placed between driving and driven machines. It acts as reservoir which stores energy during the period when the supply of energy is more than requirement and releases it during the period, when the requirement of energy is more than supply energy.

A flywheel is an energy storage device. It stores energy as its speed increases, and gives up energy as the speed decreases. The specifications of the machine usually determine the allowable range of speed and the required energy interchange.7

Gear Arrangement:Gears are machine elements used to transmit rotary motion between two shafts, normally with a constant ratio. The pinion is the smallest gear and the larger gear is called the gear wheel. Due to the larger gear is in mesh with the smaller gear of the generator there is increase in the revolutions. The larger gear is having 90 teeth and the smaller gear is having 30 teeth. The gear ratio between the larger gear and the smaller gear is 1:3, i.e every one revolution of the larger gear three times more revolution of the smaller gear can taken place. Due to this arrangement with less pressure on the step more revolutions of the smaller gear can take place.

Permanent Magnet D.C. Generator:Electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. Whenever flux is cut by a conductor, an e.m.f is induced which will cause a current to flow if the conductor circuit is closed.

Battery:A lead-acid battery is an electrical storage device that uses a reversible chemical reaction to store energy. It uses a combination of lead plates or grids and an electrolyte consisting of a diluted sulphuric acid to convert electrical energy into potential chemical energy and back again.

Inverter:The process of converting D.C. into A.C. is known as inversion. The device, which performs this process, is known as an Inverter.

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

Advantages:8

Power generation is simply walking on the step or exercising on the step. No need of fuel input. This is a Non-conventional system. Battery is used to store the generated power. Pollution free power generation. No consumption of any fossil fuel which is non-renewable source of energy. Maximum utilization of energy.

Limitations: Only applicable for the particular place. Mechanical moving parts are high. Initial cost of this arrangement is high. Care should be taken for batteries.

APPLICATIONS

Power generation using foot step can be used in most of the places such as:9

Schools Colleges cinema theatres Shopping complex Railway station Bus stand

CONCLUSION

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The world has already had its share of its energy resources. Fossil fuels pollute the environment. Nuclear energy requires careful handling of both raw as well as waste material. The focus now is shifting more and more towards the renewable sources of energy, which are essentially, non-polluting. Energy conservation is the cheapest new source of energy. It is an attractive technology for optimal use of available sources. In this Foot Step Power Generation System the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy by the rack and pinion arrangement. When 60 kg weight is applied once on the foot step 0.98 watts electrical power will be generated. To glow the fluorescent tube the system requires 10 minutes and for full storage of the battery 2 hours continuous rotation of the generator will be required. Once the battery is fully charged the bulb will glow continuously for 4 hours. In this system, for achieving more power output the rack and pinion mechanism is arranged to the remaining steps. When weight on the step increases the power output also increases proportionally to a certain limit. The power output of the generator depends on the gear ratio of the larger gear & smaller gear.

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REFERENCES

RAI.G.D. Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Khanna Publishers, Delhi. A.K.Sawhney. A Text Book of Electrical, Electronics, Instrumentation and

Measurements. B.L.Theraja, A.K. Theraja. A Text Book of Electrical Technology. G.R.Nagpal. Power Plant Engineering, Khanna Publishers, Delhi.

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