Energy-harvesting linear MR damper: prototyping and testing

Abstract

The present study is concerned with an energy-harvesting linear MR (EH-LMR) damper which is able to recover energy from external excitations using an electromagnetic energy extractor, and to adjust itself to excitations by varying the damping characteristics. The device has three main components: an MR part having a damper piston assembly movable in relation to the damper cylinder under an external excitation, a power generator to produce electrical power according to the relative movement between the damper piston and the cylinder assembly, and a conditioning electronics unit to interface directly with the generator and the MR damper. The EH-LMR damper integrates energy harvesting, dynamic sensor and MR damping technologies in a single device. The objective of the study is to get a better insight into the structure of EH-LMR damper components, to investigate the performance of each component and a device as a whole, and to compare results of experimental study against numerical data obtained in simulations conducted at the design stage. The research work demonstrates that the proposed EH-LMR damper provides a smart and compact solution with the potential of application to vibration isolation. The advantage of the device is its adaptability to external excitations and the fact that it does not need any extra power supply unit or sensor on account of its self-powered and self-sensing capabilities.

Evaluation of an energy harvesting mr damper-based Vibration reduction systemstem

“…This study recalls two former papers by the author, see Sapiński (2011Sapiński ( , 2014. The first work demonstrated that the developed MR damper-based vibration control system with energy harvesting capability (comprising a commercially available linear MR damper and an electromagnetic power generator prototype) was able to power-supply the MR damper whilst the generator served as a "velocity-sign" sensor.…”

Laboratory Testing of Velocity Sensing in a Magnetorheological Damper with Power Generation

“…(Li et al, 2013a(Li et al, , 2013b presented an innovative concept of a mechanical motion rectifier which converts bidirectional motion into unidirectional motion. This paper deals with velocity sensing of the MRD prototype and recalls three former works of the author (Sapiński, 2011, 2014, Sapiński et al, 2016). The study is organized as follows.…”

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

“…Application of magnetorheological (MR) fluid‐based dampers have recently been reported for energy harvesting from vehicles' suspension systems . Chen and Liao proposed a self‐powered, self‐sensing MR damper that incorporated energy harvesting, dynamic sensing, and MR damping in a single unit.…”