Achievements

The finals of the 2018 National Go Green In The City competition took place on July 17th at Schneider Electric Vietnam.  Leaders in Digitization of Energy Management and Automation, DTU’s Energy Loop and Smart Proof teams won the first and third prizes respectively, winning 20 million VND and becoming the only Vietnamese teams to enter the Asian finals in August.

 

  

 

“The idea came naturally to us. On many motorbike trips to remote areas, we really needed to contact our relatives and search addresses in Google maps, but our smartphone batteries kept running out. We then realized that motorbike brakes generate heat, due to their friction with the wheels. We asked ourselves: “How can we take advantage of this energy on our travels?” So the concept of converting brake friction into electrical energy was born,” said Doan Thi Thu Ha. 

The team immediately started to implement the project. After a period of tests in the DTU Faculty of Electrical Engineering labs, the product has been constructed. It has three main parts, the brake cable, the dynamo and the electricity accumulator, and is attached to the friction-shoe of the motorbike. When the driver brakes, the dynamo generates electricity, which is accumulated in a standby battery on the motorbike and can then be used several ways, including charging phones and powering lights.   

    

Nguyen Thi Thanh, a member of the Energy Loop team, was taking part in the Go-Green-In the city competition for the second time and said: “Thanks to the enthusiastic support of the Electricity and Electronics lecturers, our product was finished on schedule and met the requirements of Schneider Electric. The lecturers suggested the best ways to bring our ideas to fruition and helped us prepare for our product presentation in English. With this experience in 2017, we will be better prepared for this year’s competition and will try our best to win first prize again."

Nguyen Thi Thanh applied to DTU in 2015 with the highest High Graduation Exam score of 28.25 and was a member of the winning team in the 2017 National Go-Green-In the City competition.

Solar power is becoming very popular in Vietnam. Panels on the rooftops of houses are an effective way to exploit natural energy from sunlight, heat and biomass. However, a member of the DTU Smart Proof team discovered that a solar panel absorbing sunlight to generate electricity is only 20% to 30% efficient. 

The DTU team designed rotating solar panels, with the objective of optimizing their efficiency by rotating them to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight at any time of the day. They also used auto-rotation to channel rainwater into a gutter and turn turbines below to generate electricity, which can then be used for basic household needs.      

        

 

Tran Minh Anh, a member of DTU’s Smart Proof team, said: “Recently, green energy is receiving great attention worldwide because fossil fuels are running out. Our product may be able to contribute extra energy and have a positive effect on the environment”. 

Five teams entered the finals of the 2018 National Go-Green-In the City competition, including four from DTU. The DTU teams won first and third prizes for high-quality, practical projects and second prize went to the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. This is the third year that DTU has won this competition. In 2016, they won with the “A solution for Eco-friendly shrimp farming with zero water replacement” project, and, in 2017, with the “A mini electric generator using the power of water in a household supply system and a battery generating electricity from urine” project.   

   

For further information about DTU’s Technology and Engineering Education, visit: Technology and Engineering.