CHAPTER- 1
INTRODUCTION
In the past decade, regenerative braking systems have become increasingly
popular, recovering energy that would otherwise be lost through braking. However,
another energy recovery mechanism that is still in the research stages is regenerative
suspension systems. This technology has the ability to continuously recover a vehicle's
vibration less energy dissipation that occurs due to road irregularities, vehicle
acceleration, and braking, and use the energy to reduce fuel consumption. Consumption;
however, only 10%–16% fuel energy in the vehicles is utilized for driving to overcome
resistance from road friction and air drag.
In addition to thermal efficiency and braking energy, one important loss is kinetic
energy dissipated by shock absorbers. The function of vehicle suspension system is to
support the weight of vehicle body, to isolate the vehicle chassis from road disturbances,
and to enable the wheels to hold the road surface. Two chief elements in suspension are
spring and damper. Conventionally, damper is designed to dissipate vibration energy into
heat to attenuate the vibration which is transmitted from road excitation.
However, the dissipated heat is from fuel or electrical power. It is a pity that so
much energy is wasted. Green manufacturing, also called environmentally conscious
manufacturing, is one of the most popular topics nowadays. The future of green
manufacturing technology is foreseeable, especially on vehicle industry. Since the
suspension is an important source of energy dissipation, it is feasible to harvest its
vibration energy and convert into regenerative energy to improve the vehicle fuel
efficiency. Therefore, so called regenerative suspensions arise as the times require.
Instead of dissipating the vibration energy into heat wastes, the damper in
regenerative suspension will transform the kinetic energy into electricity or other
potential energy and store it for late use. The stored energy can be used to tune the
damping force of the damper to improve the suspension performance or to power vehicle
electronics to increase vehicle fuel efficiency
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CHAPTER- 2
SHOCK ABSORBER
2.1 INTRODUCTION
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock
impulse, and convert kinetic energy to another form of energy (usually thermal energy,
which can be easily dissipated). It is a type of dashpot. A shock absorber is a device
which convert mechanical energy into thermal energy. The energy transformation occurs
as the shock absorbers fluid medium is forced through orifice at high velocity.
2.2 DESCRIPTION
Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers are used in conjunction with cushions
and springs. An automobile shock absorber contains spring-loaded check valves and
orifices to control the flow of oil through an internal piston. One design consideration,
when designing or choosing a shock absorber, is where that energy will go. In most shock
absorbers, energy is converted to heat inside the viscous fluid. In hydraulic cylinders, the
hydraulic fluid heats up, while in air cylinders, the hot air is usually exhausted to the
atmosphere. In other types of shock absorbers, such as electromagnetic types, the
dissipated energy can be stored and used later. In general terms, shock absorbers help
cushion vehicles on uneven roads.
2.3 VEHICLE SUSPENSION
In a vehicle, shock absorbers reduce the effect of travelling over rough ground,
leading to improved ride quality and vehicle handling. While shock absorbers serve the
purpose of limiting excessive suspension movement, their intended sole purpose is to
damp spring oscillations. Shock absorbers use valving of oil and gasses to absorb excess
energy from the springs. Spring rates are chosen by the manufacturer based on the weight
of the vehicle, loaded and unloaded. Some people use shocks to modify spring rates but
this is not the correct use. Along with hysteresis in the tire itself, they damp the energy
stored in the motion of the unsprung weight up and down. Effective wheel bounce
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damping may require tuning shocks to an optimal resistance. Spring-based shock
absorbers commonly use coil springs or leaf springs, though torsion bars are used in
torsional shocks as well. Ideal springs alone, however, are not shock absorbers, as springs
only store and do not dissipate or absorb energy. Vehicles typically employ both
hydraulic shock absorbers and springs or torsion bars. In this combination, "shock
absorber" refers specifically to the hydraulic piston that absorbs and dissipates vibration.
Figure 2.1 : Mono Tube And Twin Tube Shock Absorber
2.4. TYPES OF SHOCK ABSORBER
There are two types of shock absorber are given below.
A) Air Shock Absorber: Air shock absorber consists of an air chamber, an iron
piston and a fluid.
B) Damper Shock Absorber: A damper shock absorber consists of a single
chamber or two chamber, it may be fluid field or filled with air. It is commonly used to
absorb the shock during the linear motion of a vehicle
1)Mono Tube Shock Absorber
2) twin tube shock absorber
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2.4.1. MONO TUBE SHOCK ABSORBER
The mono tube damper consists of single tube with two valves. It is mostly oil
filled and used in larger vehicles. When the damper compresses when of the valve gets
opened and when it extends the other valve gets open and the first one closes. The
amount of the fluid released depends on the speed of the bumps it gets while moving. If it
receives low speed small bumps the larger vents get opened and there is large amount of
fluid is released. On the other hand if gets high speed strong bumps the smaller vent gets
opened and a small amount of oil is released.
Fig-2.2: Mono Tube Shock Absorber
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2.4.2 TWIN TUBE SHOCK ABSORBER
Also known as a "two-tube" shock absorber, this device consists of two nested
cylindrical tubes, an inner tube that is called the "working tube" or the "pressure tube",
and an outer tube called the "reserve tube". At the bottom of the device on the inside is a
compression valve or base valve. When the piston is forced up or down by bumps in the
road, hydraulic fluid moves between different chambers via small holes or "orifices" in
the piston and via the valve, converting the "shock" energy into heat which must then be
dissipated.
Figure 2.3: Twin Tube Shock Absorber
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CHAPTER- 3
POWER GENERATING SHOCK ABSORBER
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The Power-Generating Shock Absorber (PGSA) converts this kinetic energy into
electricity instead of heat through a Linear Motion Electromagnetic System (LMES). The
LMES uses a dense permanent magnet stack embedded in the main piston, a switchable
series of stator coil windings , a rectifier , and an electronic control system to manage the
varying electrical output and dampening load. The bottom shaft of the PGSA mounts to
the moving suspension member and forces the magnet stack to reciprocate within the
annular array of stator windings, producing alternating current electricity.
That electricity is then converted into direct current through a full-wave rectifier
and stored in the vehicle’s batteries. The electricity generated by each PGSA can then be
combined with electricity from other power generation systems and stored in the
vehicle’s batteries to increase battery life. In non-electric vehicles the electricity can be
used to power accessories such as air conditioning. Several different systems have been
developed recently, though they are still in stages of development and not installed on
production vehicles.
Figure 3.1: Power Generating Shock Absorber
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3.2 DESCRIPTION
The mechatronic system we have chosen to model is Power-Generating Shock
Absorber (PGSA) acting on an automotive chassis. The shock absorber will be used in
conjunction with a spring to simulate one of the four suspension system of an automobile.
When designing an automotive suspension system the key is to balance the ride of the
automobile. More specifically, the suspension is meant to absorb the effects of an uneven
driving surface and tilt/sway of the car.
However, excess energy loss occurs due to resistance in the damper fluid and
compression of the spring. The PGSA converts kinetic energy into electricity through the
use of a Linear Motion Electromagnetic System (LMES). As shown in the Figure 3.1, the
absorber consists of a damper with permanent magnet stack that slide in and out of stator
windings connected to two sliding blocks inside the damper casing.
Fig-3.2 : Example of Power-Generating Shock Absorber
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Figure 3.3: Detailed view of suspension (spring + PGSA) model.
Our model of a PGSA (Figure 3.2) uses a modified EMF. The EMF was converted for
translational motion and installed opposite of the traditional application. A power sensor
with an integrator measures the energy generated by the reverse linear motor. The model
in Figure 3.2 is the strut-tower setup, so a spring was included to complete the model.
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Figure 3.3: Model of entire car including four tires and entire suspension.
To accurately test our PGSA, we utilize four of the shock absorbers in a model of a
traditional four-wheeled car (Figure 3.3). The electrical energy generated is the sum of
the output from all four PGSAs. The ride quality in the car is characterized by the
maximum vertical acceleration, taken by an accelerometer. The cost of the PGSA is
calculated outside of Dipole in an Excel Spreadsheet. These objectives were analysed in
Model Centre.
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3.3 REQUIRED MATERIAL FOR CONSTRUCTION
➢ Suspension systems which is a main part of assembly.
➢ An electric motor which converts the magnetic effect into electricity.
➢ Four-wheel drive on which suspension system is assembled.
➢ Wiring of whole system through which electricity is being generated
3.4 CONSTRUCTION
The LMES uses a dense permanent magnet stack embedded in the main piston, a
switchable series of stator coil windings, a rectifier, and an electronic control system to
manage the varying electrical output and dampening load. The bottom shaft of the PGSA
mounts to the moving suspension member and forces the magnet stack to reciprocate
within the annular array of stator windings, producing alternating current electricity.
3.5 WORKING
The Power-Generating Shock Absorber (PGSA) converts this kinetic energy into
electricity instead of heat through the use of a Linear Motion Electromagnetic System
(LMES). Shock absorbers are installed between chassis and wheels to suppress the
vibration, mainly induced by road roughness, to ensure ride comfort and road handling.
Conventional rotational regenerative shock absorbers translate the suspension oscillatory
vibration into bidirectional rotation, using a mechanism like ball screw or rack pinion
gears. Figure 3.4 shows one such an implementation, where the rotary motion is changed
by 90 degree with a pair of bevel gears for retrofit. And electricity generated in this
mechanism. That electricity is then converted into direct current through a full wave
rectifier and stored in the vehicle’s batteries.
The suspension system consists two types of cylinder. One have larger diameter
and another have smaller diameter. When suspension is applied, the smaller diameter
cylinder moves into the larger diameter cylinder which produces magnetic field due to
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repetition of movement of cylinders over coils. Then the electric motor converts the
magnetic effect into electricity which is to be stored in battery.
Figure 3.5: Traditional design of a rack-pinion based power generating shock
absorber
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CHAPTER- 4
4.1. ADVANTAGES
➢ Shock absorbers have a great for performance, handling and stability.
➢ They are best choice for work and severe use vehicles.
➢ High pressure gas mono tube design- 360psi to prevent aeration and shock fade.
These have a lighter valving than the heavy duty units.
➢ Low pressure gas twin tube design- These units are good for average, everyday
driving and a very good replacement for OE units.
➢ The “electricity generating suspension system” has a much higher energy yield
than other known invention.
4.2. DISADVANTAGES
➢ Complexity
➢ Problem occurred in collecting materials.
➢ Time consuming.
➢ Found some drawbacks of suspension system like rubbing in (LWV) light weight
vehicles.
➢ In case of Induction Brakes, whole system can undergo failure because of electric
motor.
➢ As whole system consist electric wiring so this may occur short circuit of system.
➢ This system consist a speed limit up to 35 km/h.
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4.3 APPLICATION
Linear Motion Electromagnetic System (LMES) technology is already finding its
place in ocean power generating systems. Its introduction into the automotive world is the
next logical step. This technology can be applied to any type of vehicle that employs
movable suspension technology and uses electricity in some form as its fuel.
To validate the given analysis and demonstrate energy harvesting from the shock
absorbers, we carried out road tests using a Chevrolet Suburban SUV (2002 model). The
experiment setup is shown in Fig. 20.
The displacement of the rear shock absorber was recorded by a laser displacement
sensor from Micro-Epsilon with a sampling rate of 1000 points/s. The output voltage is
recorded with a digital signal analyzer HP 35670A.
The road tests were conducted on the campus road of Stony Brook University,
Stony Brook, NY, at different speeds, including 30 and 20 mi/h (or 48 and 32 km/h). The
recorded voltages on an external electrical load of 30 Ω generated from the energy-
harvesting shock absorber at these two vehicle speeds are shown in Figs. 21 and 22,
respectively. It is shown that the peak voltages were over 40 V. Correspondingly, the
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peak powers are 67.5–58.2W. The average power values are 4.8 and 3.3W, respectively,
at 48 and 32 km/h (30 and 20 mi/h), or 19.2 and 13.2 W can be harvested on four shock
absorbers at 48 and 32 km/h. Recall in Table I, we estimate 54.1- and 13.5-W energy
dissipation on a local road at 48 and 32 km/h. The results from the road tests are
encouraging, although the harvesting efficiency in road tests cannot be drawn from these
values since the suspension vibration highly depends on the road conditions.
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5. CONCLUSION
Conventionally, the vibration energy of vehicle suspension is dissipated as heat by shock
absorber, which wastes a considerable number of resources. Power Generating Shock
Absorber brings hope for recycling the wasted energy.
All types of Power Generating Shock Absorber, especially electromagnetic
suspension, and their properties are reviewed in this seminar. From the perspective of
comprehensive performance including vibration control ability, regenerative efficiency
and application reliability, the configuration of hydraulic transmission and self-powered
MR damper shows the best attraction.
With improvement of technology, Power Generating Shock Absorber may become
one of promising trends of vehicle industry.
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REFERENCES
1. Kirpal Singh, Automobile Engineering Volume 1, Suspention , page no. 168
2. Horst Bauer (ed)., Automotive Handbook 4th Edition, robert Bosch GmbH 1996,
ISBN 0-8376-0333-1page 584
3. Carley, Larry (February 2008), "Monotube shocks-- don't absorb shocks, but...",
Brake and front end magazine, retrieved 1 January 2014
4. Setright, L. J. K. "Dampers: Smoothing Out the Bumps", in Northey, Tom, ed.
World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume
5. Steve Karamihas, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute,
University of Michigan, private communication (stevemk@[Link]).
6. Estimated from General Motors Impact (electrical vehicle) specifications; and from
Hugh [Link], senior editor, “Efficient Use of Energy”,
7. Chap. 4, AIP Conference Proceedings No.25, American
8. Institute of Physics, NY (1975).
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