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IEEETRANSACTIONSONVEHICULARTECHNOLOGY,VOL.62,NO.

3,MARCH2013

1065

ElectromagneticEnergyHarvestingShock
Absorbers:Design,Modeling,andRoadTests
ZhongjieLi,LeiZuo,GeorgeLuhrs,LiangjunLin,andYixianQin

AbstractThis paper presents the design, modeling, bench


experiments, and road tests for a retrofit regenerative shock
absorberbasedonapermanentmagneticgeneratorandarack
pinion mechanism for the purposes of energy harvesting and
vibration damping. Results show that variable damping co
efficients and the asymmetric feature in jounce and rebound
motionsareachievedbycontrollingtheelectricalloadoftheshock
absorber. Improved efficiency and reliability are achieved by
utilizing a roller to guide the rack and preload on the gear
transmissiontoreducebacklashandfriction.Apeakpowerof68
Wandaveragepowerof19Wareattainedfromoneprototype
shockabsorberwhenthevehicleisdrivenat48km/h(30mi/h)on
afairlysmoothcampusroad.
Index TermsElectromagnetic, energy harvesting, regenera
tive,roadtest,shockabsorber,vehiclesuspension.

I.INTRODUCTION

Fig.1.Schematicoftheregenerative
suspensionsystem.

tradeoff between ride quality


EHICLESarewidelyusedallaroundtheworldandcauseaandroadhandling,semiactive
lotofenergyandenvironmentalissues.IntheUnitedStates,andactivesuspensionsystems
transportationaccountsforover70%ofoilconsumption[1];
however,only10%16%fuelenergyinthevehiclesisutilizedforhavebeen proposed overthe
drivingtoovercomeresistancefromroadfrictionandairdrag[2].
Inadditiontothermalefficiencyandbrakingenergy,oneimportantpast several decades.
lossiskineticenergydissipatedbyshock
However,powerconsumption
absorbers.
The primary function of vehicle suspension is to reduce the and fuel efficiency are a
vibration disturbance from road roughness, acceleration,concern.Testsintheliterature
deceleration,andcorneringtothechassisforbetterridecomfort indicate that the fullactive
andtomaintaingoodtiregroundcontactforceforbettervehicle suspension consumes 10%
handlingandmobility.Traditionalsuspensionsystemsconsistof 30% engine power [3].
springsandviscous shockabsorbers. Hydraulic shock absorbersRegenerativeshockabsorbers
dissipate the vibration energy into waste heat to ensure ride havethepotentialtonotonly
comfort and road handling. Due to simplicity and reliability, harvest the kinetic energy
passive dampers are favored and used in almost all vehicles traditionally wasted in
nowadays. Generally speaking, softer dampers provide a more suspension vibration but for
comfortableride,whereasstifferdampersprovidebetterstability use as actuators for
and, thus, better road handling. However, the passive dampers suspension control as well.
characteristics have been determined during their design and Moreover,itcanincreasefuel
efficiency by reducing the
cannotbechanged.Tohelpvehiclesbreakthe
electrical demand to the car
alternators and, thus, reduce
ManuscriptreceivedJune4,2012;revisedSeptember19,2012andOctober15, the engines workload (see
2012;acceptedNovember12,2012.DateofpublicationJanuary4,2013;dateof
Fig.1).
currentversionMarch13,2013.ThisworkwassupportedinpartbytheNewYork

State Energy Research and Development Authority and in part by the State Energy dissipated by shock
UniversityofNewYorkResearchFoundationTechnologyAcceleratorFund.The absorbers is calculated and
reviewofthispaperwascoordinatedbyDr.M.Kazerani.

modeled by a number of

The authors are with the State University of New York at Stony Brook,
researchers. Segel and Lu [4]
StonyBrook,NY11794USA(email:lei.zuo@stonybrook.edu).
Colorversionsofoneormoreofthefiguresinthispaperareavailableonline didsomesimulation,indicating
athttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
that approximately 200 W of
DigitalObjectIdentifier10.1109/TVT.2012.2229308

power are wasted by four


damperswhenapassengercar
drives on a road. Zuo and
Zhang [5] modeled road
roughness and vehicle dynam
ics, concluding 100400W
energypotentialfromtheshock
absorbers of a typical vehicle
at96km/h(60mi/h).Itisalso
noted that typical vehicles use
about 300 W of electricity
when the optional electric
accessories are turned off [6],
which demands five to six
times more fuel power,
considering 25%45% engine
efficiency and 50%65%
alternatorefficiency[7].
To improve the fuel
efficiency of vehicles,
regenerative shock absorbers
aredesignedtoharvestenergy
from the vibration. Karnopp
[8] first proposed a linear
electromagnetic absorber
consistingofmovingcoilswith
a magnetic field around them.
Suda et al. [9] developed a
hybrid suspension system, in
whichalineardcgeneratorwas
used to harvest energy from
vibration. Zhang et al. [10]
proposedandcharacterizedone
type of regenerative shock
absorber, which consists of a
ballscrew mechanism and a
permanentmagnet

dc
generator.

00189545/$31.002013IEEE

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IEEETRANSACTIONSONVEHICULARTECHNOLOGY,VOL.62,NO.3,MARCH2013

(20mi/h).
TA
BL
EI
MEASUREDSUSPENSION
VIBRATIONVELOCITY

Martins [11] improved electromagnetic active suspension on


power electronics, permanent magnetic materials, and micro
electronic systems. Choi et al. [12] designed a selfpowered
semiactive suspension system with a controllable electrorhe
ological shock absorber and an energy generator. Chen and
Liao developed a selfpowered and selfsensing magnetorhe
ologicaldamperanddemonstratedcontrollabledampingforce
whileutilizingwastedvibrationenergy[13].Avadhanyetal.

AND
CALCULATE
DPOWER

[14] patentedaregenerativeshockabsorberwithahydraulic
piston,ahydraulicmotor,andanelectricalgenerator.Zuoetal.
[15] designedanelectromagneticenergyharvesterandbuilta1
:2scaleprototypetoverifyitscapabilitiesofgeneratingpower Fig. 2. Experiment setup for
undervibration.Li etal. [16]proposedarackpinionbased suspension vibration tests. The laser
of the displacement sensor
design and analyzed its characterizations with a nonlinear head
(MicroEpsilonILD1401)ismounted
dynamicmodel.
ontheinnercylinderoftheabsorber,
This paper aims at introducing the design principles of a andthetargetismountedontheouter
cylinder.
regenerative shock absorber, modelingthe dynamics, charac
terizing it with laboratorybased experiments, and eventually
demonstratingitinvehicleroadtests.Thecontributionofthis
paperisthreefold.Wefirstpresentatrulyretrofitabledesignof
an energyharvesting shock absorber. Second, we create
physicalbasedmodeling,whichcanbeusedtoguidethedesign
and parameter selection. Third, we characterize the damping
property and demonstrate energyharvesting capacity in road
tests. It should be noted that although this work has been
featuredinsomepopular newmedia, suchasPhysOrg[17],
R&D 100 Award [18], and Newsday [19], none of these
journalistshavereportedthetechnicaldesign,modeling,bench
test,androadtestdata.
Thispaperisorganizedasfollows:SectionIIdescribesthe
design principles. Section III introduces the modeling and
analysisoftheenergyharvestingshockabsorber.InSectionIV,
theprototypeischaracterizedwithbenchtests.InSectionV,
road tests are conducted to verify the capabilities of energy
harvestinginaChevroletfullsizeSUV.Conclusions,including Fig. 3. Suspension velocity between
designguidelines,arethengiveninSectionVI.
the sprung and unsprung masses
recordedonalocalroadat32km/h

35.
REGENERATIVE SHOCKBrook University,
ABSORBERDESIGN
Stony Brook, NY,
andtheLongIsland
A.SuspensionVibrationInput
Expressway(I495).
To evaluate the suspensions vibration The suspension
induced by road roughness, we performedvibration highly
someexperimentalstudyusingaChevrolet
depends on road
Suburban (2002 model). A laser
conditions and
displacement sensor (MicroEpsilon
vehicle speed. Fig.
ILD1401, 1000 Hz, resolution 50 m) is
3showsarecorded
mountedonthetraditionalshockabsorberof
relative vibration
therearsuspensiontodirectlymeasurethe
compression/extension of the shock velocity between
absorber,asshowninFig.2.Thesuspension the sprung and
velocity is calculated from the measured unsprung masses
relativedisplacementbytakingaderivativeobtainedinthetest
and applying a fourthorder Butterworthatthevehiclespeed
filter of bandwidth 0.1100 Hz [5]. The of 32 km/h (20
vehicle is driven on different roads, mi/h). The instant
including Stony Brook Road near Stony peaktopeak

velocity can be
0.15 m/s, but the
rootmeansquare
(RMS)valueofthe
velocity data is
only0.026m/s.

Table I shows
the measured
relative velocities
of the suspension
whentheSUVwas
driven at different
vehicle speeds. In
TableI,itisshown

that the suspension


velocity increases
withtheincreasein
vehicle driving
speed. In addition,
road conditions
have a great
influence on the
suspension veloc
ity. Based on the
measured
equivalentdamping
coefficient 4700
N/m of the
traditional shock
absorber on this
SUV vehicle, we
also calculated the
table

power

dissipatedbythesuspensionsystemwithfour shocks, as

showninTableI.

LIetal.:ENERGYHARVESTINGSHOCKABSORBERS:DESIGN,MODELING,ANDROADTESTS

1067

Fig.4.Overallstructureoftheregenerativeshockabsorber.

absorber prototype is not


retrofittable for common
vehicles(101.6mmofoverall
Ingeneral,springstiffnessisveryimportantforthevibration
diameter,incomparisonwith

B.DesignPrinciple

energyharvesterdesignsincewewouldliketomaketheresonant
frequencythesameastheexcitationfrequency.However,themain
excitation to vehicle suspension is road roughness, which is
generally random and, often, can be modeled as whitenoise
velocity input to the tires [5]. In addition, retrofit design is
important for economic implementation without changing the
suspensionstructureorsuspensionstiffness.Therefore,wewould
liketodesignregenerativeshockabsorbersthatcandirectlyreplace
the traditional oil damper to achieve the desired damping while
harvesting the energy. There are generally two types of
configurationsofregenerativeshockabsorbers,i.e.,lineardesign
and rotary design. The lineartype shock absorbers utilize the
relative motion between magnetic field and coils to directly
generate power based on Faradays law of electromagnetic
induction. The rotary shock absorbers transfer linear motion of
suspensionvibrationtorotarymotiontodrivepermanentmagnetic
dc generators. Usually, rotary shock absorbers are capable of
generatingmorepowerandgettingalargerdampingcoefficientfor
thegivenspace[20].

Tochange the linear motionintorotary motion, different


mechanismscouldbeadoptedincludingballscrewandrack
pinion mechanisms. However, considering the poor per
formanceoftheballscrewharvesterinhighfrequencies[21],
wechoosetherackpinionmechanism,asshowninFig.4.A
pairofbevelgearsarealsousedtochangethetransmissionby

90 . As the output voltage is proportional to the rotational


speed,aplanetarygearboxisusedformotionmagnification.
C.PrototypeIntroduction
TheprincipleofregenerativeshockabsorberisshowninFig.
4,andaprototypeisshowedinFig.5.Itismainlycomposedof
rackpinion, bevel gears, planetary gears, and an electrical
generator. The electric generator assembly is mounted on a
cylinder,andanoutercylinderisusedtoenclosethesystem.
Therackisconnectedwiththeendoftheoutercylinderand
will drive the pinion gear when there is a relative motion
betweenthetwoendsoftheshockabsorbers.Throughbevel
gears,therotationalmotionofthepiniongearistransferredby

90 to the rotational motion of the generator. The planetary


gearsareusedtomagnifythemotion,andadcmotorisusedas
agenerator.
ItshouldbenotedthatLietal.[16]previouslybuiltarack
pinionbasedshockabsorberprototype,butthesizeoftheshock

Fig.5.Threedimensionalmodeland
photooftheshockabsorber
prototype.

the 72mm outside diameter


in this prototype). Moreover,
there are large backlash and
friction in the transmission.
Toreducefrictionforcesand
backlash impacts, in this
design, a roller is used to
guidetherackandpreloadof
rack on the opposite side of
thepiniongears.Inaddition,
weputaTeflonringbetween
the outer and inner cylinders
to further reduce the dry
frictionforces.Wealsoputa
filterwithasteelwirescreen
at the top of the shock
absorber to prevent the dirt
from being sucked into the
cylindersduringthemotion.
The selection of gears for
this system is critical for its
overall performance. With a
higher transmission ratio, the
system can achieve a higher
dampingcoefficient(whichwe
will see in the modeling,
Section III), but a large gear
ratio usually means low
transmission efficiency. A
smaller transmission ratio has
higher transmission efficiency
andbettercompactness,butthe
expected damping coefficient
would be lower. Hence, the
selection of gears is a

compromisebetweenperformance,efficiency,andcompactness.In The regenerative shock


this prototype, we choose ratio 50 to bring the typical RMS absorber has several parts,
suspensionvelocitytotheratedgeneratorrotationspeed.
including a generator, a

Thebevelandrackpiniongearsarethetwomostimportantplanetary gearbox, bevel


componentsinthesystemthatmaycausefailure;hence,contact gears, rackpinion, etc. The
fatigue, strength of teeth surface, and strength of teeth root objectiveofthissessionisto
investigate the influence of
bendingshouldbechecked.
these components and the
parameters on the dynamics
III.MODELINGANDANALYSIS
ofthesystem.

A.DCMotorandDC
Generator
Permanent magnetic dc
motorscanbedirectlyusedas
generators. Although the
modelingofadcmotoriswell
known, it is a very common
mistake that people may
directlytakea100W

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IEEETRANSACTIONSONVEHICULARTECHNOLOGY,VOL.62,NO.3,MARCH2013

the maximum continuous


current due to the thermal
limit of this electrical
machine.Forashorttime,the
instant speed can be higher
thantheratedspeed,andthus,
the instant voltage generated
canbehigher.Moreover,the
maximalpermissiblespeedis
limitedbytheballbearingsin
Fig.6.Twoworkingmodesofelectricalmachines.(a)Asamotor.(b)Asa thismotor.
generator.

B.DynamicsModeling
motortobea100Wgenerator.Inthissession,weanalyzethe TheanalysisinSectionIII
characteristics of motors and generators and illustrate the A is the capacity of steady
differenceofdcmachinesasageneratorandasamotor(see power generation when an
Fig.6).
electrical motor is used as a

Whentheelectricalmachineofinternalresistanceriisusedasagenerator. To model the


motor, the relation between input voltage Um and backdynamics of the system, we
electromotiveforce(EMF)voltageUemfatnominalcurrentIn is

have to consider the inertia


and inductance of the
electrical generator. Fig. 7
Furthermore,whenitisusedasagenerator,outputvoltageUg atnominalcurrent In is
shows the dynamic modeling
U =I r +U
ofadcgenerator.
emf
n i
g
Electric current i in the
generator coil will produce
torque i following the
wherethebackEMFvoltageisproportionaltorotationspeed n with relationship
gain ke ofthebackelectromotivevoltageconstant. Thus
i = k
Um = Inri + Uemf .

wherektrepresentsthetorque
constant. Based on Newtons
secondlaw,wecanget
=J
m

wheremistheinputmechanicaltorqueon
thegenerator,and Jm istheinertiaofthe
rotor.

BasedonKirchhoffsvoltagelaws,wehave
di
U L
emf
dt iR = 0

(8)
wherebackEMFvoltageUemf=ke(d/dt),Lrepresentsthe

generatorsinternalinductance,andRisthesumofgenerator

internalresistanceriandelectricloadresistanceRe.

(3)

Take(6)(8)intoconsideration,theoverallexpressionofthe
generatorsdynamicscanbewrittenas
From(1)and(2),weseethatwhenthemotorisusedasa
2
d
d
Uemf = ken.

generator,atthesamespeednandcurrentIn,outputvoltage

Ld
d

ke dt

Ug maybemuchsmallerthanthenominalinputvoltage Um of

d
m Jm dt2

= kt t

m Jm dt2

+ kt

(9)

ThisequationcanbewrittenintheLaplacedomainwith
Laplaceoperators,i.e.,

themotor.Thus
Ug = Uemf Inri = Um 2Inri

(4)

Tm

andthenominaloutputpowerPgasageneratorisalsosmaller

thanthenominalpowerPmofthemotor,i.e.,
2

2
= ktkes + Jms .

(10)

R + Ls

Ifweexpressthetorqueinmassspringdampingform,i.e.,
2

Pg = Ug In = UmIn 2In ri = Pm 2In ri.

Tm = Jms + cms + km

(5)

(11)

Equations(4)and(5)indicatehowweshouldtakethe thenwecanobtaintheequivalenttorsionaldampingofcoeffi
internalresistanceandthenominalcurrentintoaccountinthe cientcm(frequencydependent),i.e.,
ktkeR
generatorselection.Inthisprototype,weselectadcmotor
c
=
(MaxonMotor,model218010)asagenerator.Theparameters
m
R +L
areshowninTableII.Pluggingthemotorparametersinto(4)
and(5),weseethattheoutputvoltageattheratedrotational andtheequivalenttorsionalstiffnesskm,i.e.,
2
speedandratedcurrentwillbe38.9V,andtheoutputpower
ktktL
km =
isonly41.1W,muchsmallerthantheratedpower48V
2

(12)

(13)

R2 + L22

1.38A=66Wasamotor.Onemaythinkthatthemaximal

outputpowerhappenswhentheexternalresistoristhesame Equations(12)and(13)indicatethatthecoilresistancecon
2
astheinternalresistor:(48V/2) /6.6 =87.3W.However, tributestotorsionaldamping,andthecoilinductorappearsto
asimplecalculationindicatesthatthecurrentintheelectrical beastiffness.
Consideringthatthevibrationinducedbyroadirregularities
machineinsuchacasewillbe3.6A=48V/(26.6),
whichismuchlargerthantheratedcurrent1.38A,whichis isusuallyinthefrequencyrange110Hz,andtheinductance
LIetal.:ENERGYHARVESTINGSHOCKABSORBERS:DESIGN,MODELING,ANDROADTESTS

TABLEII
PARAMETERSOFTHEDCMOTORUSEDINTHEPROTOTYPE

of the generator (motor) is


verysmallcomparedwiththe
resistance (L
R), the
influence of the generators
inner inductance can be
neglected. Therefore, the
generatorcanbesimplifiedas
a torsional damper: cm
kekt/R and km 0. The
inertia of the motor will be
considered together with the
gear transmission as an
equivalentmass.
C.GearTransmission

Fig.7.Dynamicsmodelingoftheelectromagneticgenerator,whereRecanbe
theequivalentresistanceofthepowerchargecircuit.

The gear transmissions in


our prototype system include
planetary gears in the
gearbox, bevel gears, and

1069

rackpinion gears, as shown


inFig.4.
Consideringthatfrictionand
backlash are comparatively
small,thegearslargestiffness
and small damping effect, the
whole transmission gears can
be modeled together as one
transmission system with an
overalltransmissionratio kg =
kp kb/r,efficiency g = p
b r,androtationinertia Jg
=
2

Jp kp kb + Jb kb + Jr,where
Jp, kp, and p represent the ro
tation inertia, transmission ratio,
andefficiencyoftheplanetary

gears; Jb, kb, and b represent


the rotation inertia, transmission
ratio,andefficiencyofthebevel
gears;andJr,r,andbrepresent
therotationinertia,pinionradius,
and efficiency of the rack and
pinion.

D.LinearModelUnder
SinusoidalVibration

ThebacklashandCoulombfrictioninthisdesignaremuch
smallerthanthoseinthepreviousprototype[16].Therefore,a
linear model can be obtained with the equivalent mass,
where kg , g ,and Jg arethe
stiffness,anddampingcoefficient.
overall transmission ratio, ef
Basedonthemodelsofthegeneratorandgeartransmission, ficiency,androtationinertiaof
the gear transmission system
the pinion gear to the
wecanobtaintherelationshipbetweenthedrivingforceandthe from
generatorrotor,asexplainedin
SectionIIIC;r
istheradiusof
motiondisplacement,i.e.,

J
F=

J k
g

r2

piniongears;mrandmcarethe
masses of the rack and the
moving casing; ke and kt are
thevoltageandtorqueconstants
of the generator; R is the
electrical loop resistance; and
kv is the viscous damping
between the inner and outer
cylinders.

m g

+ mc)

+ (mr

d x
dt

dx

kg kekt
2

+r

g R

+ kv

dt

(14)

Therefore,theequivalent
canbeobtainedas
meq =

The most important


parameter of this energy
harvesting absorber is the
equivalent of the damping
ratio.Thus
2

kg k

Ceq =
We see that the equivalent
damping coefficient is mainly
determined by generator
constants
ke
and
kt,
transmission ratio kg from the
pinion gear to the generator
rotor,loopresistance R = ri +
Re, and viscous friction
coefficient kv between the
inner and outer cylinders.
Equation (16) can be used to
guide the selection of the
generator, gearbox ratio, and
piniongeardiameter.
Equation (16) also indicates
thatelectricalresistance R = ri
+ Re is important to the
damping coefficient. As a
result, the damping coefficient
can be controlled with
resistance Re of external load
orchargingcircuit.Itshouldbe
notedthatanelectricalcharging
circuit is very important for
energyharvesting suspension,
whichisoutofthescopeofthis
paper.However,itisusefulto
note that the charging circuit
with a dc/dc converter can be
modeled as a pure resistor Re
controlled with pulsewidth
modulation under moderate
assumption[22],[23].

Although the equivalent


stiffness of the electrical
generator due to inductor L
[see (13)] is negligible, the
equivalent mass meq will
appear to have a negative
slope in the force
displacement loops under
sinusoidal vibration input,
which we will see in the
benchtests.Thus

x = A cos(0t + 0) + x0
2
d x
2

dt = A0 cos(0t + 0) = 0 x.
Hence,theforcecanbeexpressedas
J

F=

J k

2
m g
r2 g

(17)

+ (mr + mc)

dx

kg kekt

0 2x +

r g R

+ kv

dt . (18)

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IEEETRANSACTIONSONVEHICULARTECHNOLOGY,VOL.62,NO.3,MARCH2013

Fig.10.Forcedisplacementloopfor
different frequencies with 30
external load and 30mm
displacement input, where the
negativeslopeisduetotheeffectof
massinertias.
Fig.8.Equivalentdynamicmodeloftheshockabsorber.(a)Forgeneralinput
excitation.(b)Forharmonicexcitation.

The

force
displacement
Fig.9.Benchtestsetupfortheregenerativeshock damping loops are
absorber.
shown in Figs. 10
Thecoefficientofxisanegative
and 11 at different
stiffness.Thus
frequencies and
external electrical
2
Jmkg
loads.
J
+
g
+(

K =
m
=
eq

eq

2
0

ItisshowninFig.
10 that the

orientation of the
We will see this phenomenon as aloop is not
negative slope in theforcedisplacement horizontal, and the
loopsinSectionIVA.
slope changes when
Hence,thewholesystemcanbeviewedas the frequencies
mass meq and damper Ceq in series or aincrease.Thiscanbe
negativespringelement Keq anddamper Ceqexplained using
inparallel,asshowninFig.8.
(19). The slope is
mainly caused by
IV.BENCHTESTS
theinertiaofmoving
parts, and the
Theexperimentsetupforthelaboratoryorientation
test of the energy harvester prototype is represents the
shown in Fig. 9. The bench tests are negative stiffness
conducted on an 858 Mini Bionix II Keq of the system,
material testing system from MTS. A where
r2

dynamic signal analyzer HP 3567A isKeq = meq0 .


In Figs. 10 and
usedtorecordthevoltagesignalfromthe11, the area of the
means the
generator.Forceanddisplacementsignalsloop
mechanical work
aremeasuredwithadisplacementsensorinput of the shock
absorber W in one
andaloadcell(integratedinthe858Mini cycle; hence, the
mechanical power
BionixIItestingsystem).
input can be
A.SymmetricTestoftheDampingand
Harvesting
The prototype was first tested with
sinusoidal displacement input. Power
resistors were used as the external
electricalload.

calculated as Pin =
W

0/2.
Moreover, the
equivalent damping
coefficient can be
calculatedas

where 0 means
theinputfrequency,
and X means the
displacement

magnitude.
The force
displacement loops
in Figs. 10 and 11
arenotsmooth.The
fluctuating waves
on the force
displacement loops
are due to the
imperfect
engagement of the
gear teethof bevel
gears and rack
pinion gears. This
problem may be
taken care of by
more precise
machining and
tolerancecontrol.
Fig. 12 shows
the relationship
between force and
velocity. We can
see that the
relationship is
almost linear, and
the

slopes
correspond to the
damping
coefficients. In
addition,theslopes
increase when the
electrical load
decreases, which
means we attend
largerdamping.

Fig.11.Forcedisplacementloopsfor
different electrical loads at displace
ment input of 0.1Hz frequency and
30mmamplitude.

LIetal.:ENERGYHARVESTINGSHOCKABSORBERS:DESIGN,MODELING,ANDROADTESTS

1071

inputof0.5Hzfrequencyand30mm
vibrationamplitude.

Fig.12.Forcevelocityrelationshipfordifferentelectricalloadsatdisplace
mentinputof0.5Hzfrequencyand30mmamplitude.

external load. The


instant output
electrical power is
calculatedbasedon
the

recorded
voltageandresistor
value Pout = V
2
/Re, as shown in
Fig. 14. The peak
output power
attains 22 and 12
W,respectively,on
42 and 94
external loads and
at 0.5Hz and 30
mm vibration
amplitude.
It should be
noted that the
energyconverting
efficiency is an
important index of
the harvester
Fig.13.Dampingcoefficientswithdifferent
performance.
electricalloads.
However, we have
Equation(16)predictsthatthedampingrarely seen such a
coefficient of the regenerative shocknumber in the
absorberdependsontheelectricalloads: published papers.
2
2
Ceq = (kh kekt/r g R) + kv .SuchaAfterweobtainthe
prediction very well matches with the
experiment, as shown in Fig. 13.input mechanical
Therefore, the shock absorber can be power and output
controlledinalargerangebycontrolling
theexternalresistancesorthePMWoftheelectrical power,
circuit circuitry [22], [23]. In thiswe can then
prototype, a 30 electrical loadcalculate the total
corresponds to a damping coefficient of
around5000Ns/m,whichisclosetotheefficiency of the
value of the commercial shock absorber regenerative shock
usedinthetestSUV.Inaddition,a94
electrical loadcorrespondstoadampingabsorbers.Thetotal
coefficientof1800Ns/m,whichisgoodefficiencyisfurther
foratypicalpassengercar.
We also recorded the voltage of the

Fig.14.Outputelectricalpowerfor
differentresistorsatdisplacement

efficiency ranges
from 33% to 63%
with different
vibration
frequencies (see
Fig. 15) and
different electrical
loads(seeFig.16).
Itisshownthatthe
mechanical
efficiency achieves
the maximum at
around 1Hz
frequency input,
and the efficiency
decreases at high
frequency. The
mechanical
Fig. 15. Mechanicalefficiencyat0.5Hz
efficiency under different
vibrationfrequencieswithincreasesfrom47%
94resistiveload,where
thevibrationamplitudeisto 60% when the
10mm.
vibration ampli
deconvoluted intotudeincreasesfrom
mechanical and10 to 30 mm. In
electrical
addition, the
efficiencies. Themechanical
electricalefficiencyefficiency also
is the ratio of thevaries with the
external resistancechangeinelectrical
and the loopload, as shown in
resistance (sum ofFig.16.
the

external
resistance and the
B.Asymmetryin
generator internal
theJounceand
resistance,6.6in
theprototype).TheRebound
mechanical

Asymmetric
dampingcoefficients
are essential for the
vehicle suspension
systembecausethey
can help vehicles
keep good contact
with roads and
reduce shock to the
vehicle body. The
regenerative shock
absorber

is
symmetrically
designed; however,
the asymmetric
characteristics can
be achieved by
shunting

the
regenerative shock
absorber with
different electric
loads during the
jounce and rebound
motions.
Considering

1072

IEEETRANSACTIONSONVEHICULARTECHNOLOGY,VOL.62,NO.3,MARCH2013

Fig.18.Forcevelocityrelationshipoftheregenerativeshockabsorber.
Fig. 16. Mechanical efficiency for different external resistances under har
monicvibrationof30mmamplitude.

To validate the given


analysis and demonstrate
energy harvesting from the
shock absorbers, we carried
outroadtestsus

Fig.17.Controlcircuitforasymmetriccharacteristics.

thattheupwardanddownwardmotionswillgeneratevoltages
withoppositepolaritiesinthedcgenerator(i.e.,positiveand
negativevoltages),asimplecircuitcanbebuilttoachievethe
asymmetry,asshowninFig.17.
Suchacircuitconnects R2inpositivevoltagedirectionand
R1 innegativevoltagedirection.Hence,thedampingcoeffi
cientoftheregenerativeshockabsorberis
2

kg kekt
2

r g R 2

asym

negat ivevoltagedirect ion.

(21)

Figs. 18 and 19 show the regenerative shock absorber with


asymmetricdampingcoefficients.Wecanseethattheregenera
tiveshockabsorbercanactsimilarlyasthetraditionalhydraulic
shock absorber for the asymmetric characteristics. Hence, the
regenerative shock absorber can replace traditional shock ab
sorbers for its complete function while harvesting energy from
vehiclevibration.Inaddition,iftheexternalloadresistorcanbe
controlledwithsemiactivecontrollaws,itcanfurtherimprovethe
vehicledynamicsandharvestenergyatthesametime.

V.ROADTESTS

TAB
LE
III
VEHICLE
INFORMATI
ON

+ kv , positivevoltagedirection

kg kekt + kv ,

r2g R 1

Fig. 19. Asymmetric forces of the


regenerativeshockabsorberinjounce
andreboundmotions.

ing a Chevrolet Surburban


SUV (2002 model). Its
informationisshowninTable
III. The experiment setup is
shown in Fig. 20. The
displacementoftherearshock
absorber was recorded by a

laserdisplacementsensorfromMicroEpsilonwithasampling 30and20mi/h(or48and32
rate of 1000 points/s. The output voltage is recorded with a km/h). The recorded voltages
onanexternalelectricalloadof
digitalsignalanalyzerHP35670A.

The road tests were conducted on the campus road of Stony 30 generated from the

shock
BrookUniversity,StonyBrook,NY,atdifferentspeeds,including energyharvesting

absorber at these two vehicle


speeds are shown in Figs. 21
and22,respectively.Itisshown
thatthepeakvoltageswereover
40 V. Correspondingly, the
peak

LIetal.:ENERGYHARVESTINGSHOCKABSORBERS:DESIGN,MODELING,ANDROADTESTS

1073

analyzed.
powers are 67.558.2 W. The
average power values are 4.8
and 3.3 W,respectively,at48
and32km/h(30and20mi/h),
or 19.2 and 13.2 W can be
harvested on four shock
absorbers at 48 and 32 km/h.
RecallinTable I, we estimate
54.1 and 13.5W energy
dissipationonalocalroadat48
and32km/h.Theresultsfrom
theroadtestsareencouraging,
although the harvesting
efficiency in road tests cannot
be drawn from these values
since the suspension vibration
highly depends on the road
conditions.
Fig.20.Setupoftheroadtests.(Top)Vehicle.(Bottomleft)Instruments.
(Bottomright)Mountingofsensorsandtheregenerativeshockabsorber.

VI.
CONCLU
SION

A retrofit rackpinion
based

electromagnetic
regenerativeshockabsorberis
developed and tested, which
can generate electric power
from the roadinduced
suspension vibration of
vehicles. The working
principle and design are
presented. A dynamic
modeling for a rackpinion
type shock absorber system
has been derived and

The prototype is evaluated


onatestingmachinewithsinu
soidal displacement input. The
resultsshowthattheequivalent
dampingcoefficientdependson
the external electrical resis
tances. As a result, the
regenerativeshockabsorbercan
be used as a controllable
damper, and the damping
coefficient can be handled by
controlling equivalent external
electrical load. A total energy
conversion efficiency of up to
56%isachievedunder +/30
mm0.5Hzvibrationand94
external load. We also
demonstrated the asymmetric
characteristics of the
regenerative shock absorber in
jounceandreboundmotionsby
connecting it with asymmetric
electricalloads.

Roadtestswerecarriedout
to verify the performance of
thenewdesignedregenerative
shock absorber. The
experiment results indicate
that the generated voltage
reflectstheroadirregularities
well.Apeakpowerof67.5W
andanaveragepowerof19.2
Wcanbeobtainedfromfour
energyharvesting shock
absorbers when the vehicle
travels at 48 km/h (30 mi/h)
on a fairly smooth campus
road.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fig.21.Displacementandvoltagemeasuredat48
Fig.22.Displacement
km/h(30mi/h)onapavedcampusroad.
andvoltagemeasured
at32km/h(20mi/h)
onapavedcampus
road.

The authors
would like to
thank the people
who helped
greatly with this
project, including
Mr. D. McAvoy
and J. T.
OConnor of the
Stony Brook
University
Transportation
Department, for
providing the test
vehicles, and X.
Tang, P. Li, T.
Lin,andW.Zhou,
forassistancewith
theroadtest.

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Zhongjie Li
was born in
China in
1988.Here
ceived the
B.S. degree
in
mechanical
engineering
from Harbin
Institute of
Technology,
Harbin,
China, in
2010. He is
currently
working
toward the
M.S. degree
with the
Department
of
Mechanical
Engineer
ing, State
University
of New
York at
Stony
Brook.
His
current
research is
in the areas
of design,
modeling,
and testing
of
regenerative
shock
absorbers.

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2008.

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converterforsensorlesspoweroptimizationofpiezoelectricenergyharvester,
IEEETrans.PowerElectron.,vol.22,no.5,pp.20182025,Sep.2007.

[23]

X.TangandL.Zuo,Simultaneousenergyharvestingandvibration
controlofstructureswithtunedmassdampers, J.Intell.Mater.Syst.
Struct.,vol.23,no.18,pp.21172127,Dec.2012.

Lei Zuo
receivedthe
B.S. degree
in
automotive
en
gineering
from
Tsinghua
University,
Beijing,
China, in
1997 and
two M.S.
degrees in
electrical
and
mechanical
engineering
and the
Ph.D.

degree in
mechanical
engineering
from
Massachuse
tts Institute
of
Technology
,
Cambridge,
in2005.
In 2008,
after
working
four years
in industry,
he joined
the State
University
of New
York at
Stony
Brookasan
Assistant
Professor
and
foundedthe
Energy
Harvesting
and
Mechatroni
csResearch
Lab
oratory.His
research is
currently
supported
bythe
U.S.NationalScienceFoundation,the
U.S.DepartmentofEnergy,theU.S.
Department of Transportation, the
New York Energy Research and
Development Authority, and
industry. His research interests
include vibration and thermoelectric
energy harvesting, mechatronics
design, control systems, smart
structures,andbiosensors.
Dr. Zuo received an R&D 100
AwardbyR&D100Magazineforhis
work on energyharvesting shock
absorbers.

George Luhrs, photograph and


biographynotavailableatthetimeof
publication.

Liangjun Lin, photograph and


biographynotavailableatthetimeof
publication.

YixianQin,photographandbiography
notavailableatthetimeofpublication.

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