Design and Characterization of an Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Vehicle Suspensions

Abstract

During the everyday usage of an automobile, only 10–16% of the fuel energy is used to drive the car — to overcome the resistance from road friction and air drag. One important loss is the dissipation of vibration energy by shock absorbers in the vehicle suspension under the excitation of road irregularity and vehicle acceleration or deceleration. In this paper we design, characterize, and test a retrofit regenerative shock absorber which can efficiently recover the vibration energy in a compact space. Rare-earth permanent magnets and high permeable magnetic loop are used to configure a four-phase linear generator with increased efficiency and reduced weight. Finite element method is used to analyze the magnetic field and guide the design optimization. A theoretical model is created to analyze the waveforms and regenerated energy of the harvester at various vibration amplitudes, frequencies, equilibrium positions, and design parameters. Experimental studies of a 1:2-scale prototype are conducted and the results agree very well with the theoretical predictions.

Energy harvesting from pavements and roadways: A comprehensive review of technologies, materials, and challenges

“…The energy harvesting efficiency was almost 52% under 4‐Hz harmonic vibration input with 3‐Ω external load. Kireev et al fabricated a prototype electromagnetic EHRSA with ball‐screw mechanism for long haul tractor truck, and the bench test showed a regenerative power of up to 3 kW and a force of up to 2500 N. Scully et al designed, characterized, and tested a four‐phase linear electromagnetic EHRSA, which employed rare‐earth permanent magnets and high permeable magnetic loop. Recently, Wang et al designed and tested a linear EHRSA, which generated a maximum peak‐to‐peak EMF up to 484.18 V and average power of 255 W when a car passed over it at 20 kmph.…”

An Innovative Energy Harvesting Shock Absorber System for Motorbikes

“…The aim of the study is the reduction of energy consumption in active suspensions. In [7] a prototype of a linear electromagnetic EHSA is developed based on linear generators for the recovery of energy in the suspension of a vehicle. This system is heavy due to the coil and magnets in the suspension travel.…”

Investigation of Vibrations Energy Harvesting from Passive Car Suspension Using Quarter Car Model Under Bump Excitation

“…Research into energy recovery from vehicle suspensions began more than a decade ago as an auxiliary energy source for active suspension and regeneration devices [3,4]. The main methods of implementing an energy harvesting system are to use the strain energy from various mechanical vibrations to generate electrical energy, such as attaching multiple piezoelectric harvesters [5][6][7][8], electromagnetic sensors [9][10][11], electrostatic transducers [12], linear electromagnetic shock absorbers, MR electromagnetic regenerative dampers, hydraulic, rack-pinion, ball-screw, and cable/pullies [13][14][15][16]. However, the piezoelectric sensor is widely used due to its simplicity, wide frequency range, electromechanical coupling, and high power density [17][18][19][20].…”