Waikato student swaps sunshine for autumn chill
university-of-waikato
Wed Sep 02 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Waikato student swaps sunshine for autumn chill
Wednesday, 2 September 2009, 2:43 pm
Press Release: University of Waikato
Media Release
September 2, 2009
Waikato student swaps sunshine for autumn chill at Cambridge University
University of Waikato engineering student Leon Henderson has spent the last few months tinkering with solar technology as part of a research group that’s developed a revolutionary new way to integrate long run roofing iron with a solar energy transfer system.
Henderson has been busy finishing off solar roofing panels for a test site on the University campus to showcase the technology, which is being commercialised under the name Solenza. The Solenza panels will be used on a 24 square metre site to heat the University’s dive pool – for free.
But later this month, Henderson, who comes from Whitianga, will swap spring sunshine for the chill of a British autumn when he heads to Cambridge University to take up a prestigious research scholarship.
He’s the recipient of one of six William Georgetti scholarships awarded each year for post-graduate study in a field that will benefit the social, cultural and economic development of New Zealand.
Henderson has been awarded $90,000 over three years to do PhD research into a regenerative braking system for large trucks. He’ll be working with Professor David Cebon at the Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium, which brings together manufacturers from the heavy truck industry with engineers from Cambridge University to develop safer and more 'road-friendly' heavy vehicles.
Henderson says his new field of research will be all about saving energy. “At the moment heavy vehicles use a lot of energy through engine braking, particularly when driving through towns where there’s a lot of stopping and starting. With regenerative braking you can capture some of that energy and reinject it when the vehicle starts up again.”
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He says this braking system is already used in electric and hybrid cars to conserve energy, but it’s not commonly used for larger trucks because they have more wheels. Developing a regenerative braking system for heavy vehicles could, he says, achieve potential savings in fuel costs of 20-30%. “It also means we could use bigger trucks and trailers without losing manoeuvrability around cities, so we won’t need so many big vehicles on the roads.”
Henderson says he’ll be able to use the same sort of numerical and computer modelling he’s used in solar engineering in his new field of study.
The former Mercury Bay Area School student was encouraged to take up engineering by his school science teacher. “I liked maths and science but I also liked graphics, painting and photography,” says Henderson. “So when I came to Waikato, it was a toss up between graphic design and engineering, and engineering won.”
ends
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