REGENERATIVE SHOCK

ABSORBERS
Contents

Introduction
Objective
Shock Absorbers
Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber
Literature Survey
Work plan and Methodology
Conclusion
References
 3
Introduction

Suspension system plays a vital role in vehicles.

Converts kinetic energy of shock into heat.
Causes damping fluid temperature to rise.
Leads to poor vehicle performance.
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Objective

To improve vehicle performance, ride quality, handling.

Improve fuel economy.
Harvest Energy from the vibrational energy of shock
absorber.
Design of Hydraulic Pumping Regenerative Shock
Absorber.
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Shock Absorber

Designed to smooth out shocks and to damp

vibrations.
To maintain constant contact between road and tyres
Dissipates vibrational energy to heat energy
Improves ride quality and vehicle handling
Major 2 types Hydraulic and Pneumatic
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Hydraulic Shock Absorber

Vibrational energy is converted to heat inside the

hydraulic fluid.
Consists hydraulic cylinder - piston arrangement.
The hydraulic fluid is forced through an orifice as piston
moves providing the damping action.
Provided with springs sufficient to bring the actuator
back to initial position.
Two types Mono Tube and Twin Tube shock absorbers.
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Mono Tube Shock Absorber

Consists of two chambers Oil chamber and Gas chamber.

Involves of two pistons Working Piston and Floating Piston.
Has large surface area.
Heat transferred directly to surroundings.
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Mono Tube Shock Absorber contd.

Fig. 1 Mono Tube Shock Absorber

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Mono Tube Shock Absorber contd.

Advantages
Faster heat transfer
Forged in a single piece stronger sealing
Disadvantages
Bulkier Design
Expensive
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Twin Tube Shock Absorber

Consists of two cylinders Inner cylinder (working cylinder)

and Outer cylinder.
Involves a Piston valve and a Base valve.
Smaller in size than Mono tube shock.
Presence of air gap between the two cylinders.
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Twin Tube Shock Absorber contd.

Fig. 2 Twin Tube Shock Absorber

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Twin Tube Shock Absorber contd.

Advantages
Smaller size - ease of installation
Cheaper than Mono tube
Disadvantages
Cavitation
Slower rate of heat transfer due to presence of air gap
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Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber

Based on hydraulic actuator and energy recovery unit.

Energy in the shock absorber system is usually
dissipated as heat.
Innovative method for conserving Energy.
Proposes to harvest energy from suspension vibrations.
The movement of fluid in the cylinder is used to
generate energy.
Generated energy is in the form of Electrical energy.
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Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber contd.

Energy generated
- used to power drive train
- Charge the battery
- Operate accessories like Air Conditioners, Lights
Makes the suspension system Self powered
Controls damping oil temperature rise.
Improves fuel economy, ride comfort and handling.
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Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber contd.

Components of the System

Hydraulic Actuator Hydraulic cylinder, Piston
Hydraulic Motor
Connecting tubes
Hydraulic Accumulator
Check Valves
DC Generator and Regenerative Circuit
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Mono Tube Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber

Fig. 3 Mono Tube Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber

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Mono Tube Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber
contd.

Hydraulic actuator replace the traditional Shock Absorber.

Extension Stroke/ Rebound
- check valve 1 closes and check valve 2 opens.
- Rod chambers high pressure oil flows to motor and drives it.
- Low pressure oil flows into rod less chamber through check valve2.
- Accumulator compensates for the cavity caused by rod extraction.
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Mono Tube Hydraulic Regenerative Shock Absorber
contd.

Compression Stroke/ Bump

- Check valve 1 opens and check valve 2 closes.
- Oil from rod less chamber enters rod chamber.
- High pressure oil flows to the motor and drives it.
- Low pressure oil flows back to the Accumulator.
Fluid flow is unidirectional.
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Regenerative Shock Absorber with Integrated Hydraulic
Actuator

Fig. 4 Regenerative Shock Absorber with Integrated Hydraulic Actuator

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Regenerative Shock Absorber with Integrated Hydraulic
Actuator

Developed from Twin Tube shock absorbers.

Oil from rod chamber flows out through orifice.
Outer tube with gas reservoir acts as the accumulator.
Fluid flow is unidirectional.
 Literature Survey 21
Yuxin Zhang, Xinjie Zhang, Min Zhan, Konghui Guo, Fuquan Zhao and
Zongwei Liu, Study on a Novel Hydraulic Pumping Regenerative Suspension
For Vehicles, Journal of Franklin Institute, Vol 352 issue 2 , February 2015

Presents the design, modelling and performance study of a

hydraulic regenerative Suspension using hydraulic actuators
and an energy recovery unit.
They derived a mathematical model of the suspension and
studied its performance under a sinusoidal displacement
input.
Further study showed damping forces were dependent on
external electrical resistances and input frequencies.
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Diagrams

Fig. 5 System Layout for Pumping Regenerative Fig. 6 Energy Recovery Unit
Suspension
Chuan Li, Peter W Tse, Fabrication and Testing of Energy Harvesting
23
Hydraulic Damper Smart Materials and Structures, Vol 22 Issue 6-
065024, June 2013.

An energy harvesting hydraulic damper was proposed

for collecting energy while simultaneously damping
vibrations.
Under vibratory excitation, the flow of hydraulic oil
was converted to rotary motion of a hydraulic motor,
which was coupled to a electromagnetic generator.
The flow was bi directional.
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Schematic of the Energy Harvesting Hydraulic Damper

Fig. 7 Schematic of Energy Harvesting Hydraulic Damper

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The results validate the effectiveness of the analytical

electromechanical model.
Their current design which integrates vibration damping
and energy harvesting in compact fashion offers several
potential energy saving capabilities to engineering
applications of hydraulic dampers.
 Chuan Li, Rongrong Zhu, Ming Liang, Shuai Yang, Integration of 26
Shock Absorption and Energy Harvesting Using a Hydraulic
Rectifier, Journal of Sound and vibration, Vol 333 issue 17, August
2014.

Designed and fabricated a prototype of shock absorber which

harvests energy through a unidirectional rotation of a
hydraulic pumps.
Alteration of the authors previous design.
Incorporates 4 check valves for rectifying action.
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Schematic Diagram

Fig. 8 Schematic diagram of Shock Absorber with hydraulic

rectifier
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The new design improved the reliability and the

durability of the hydraulic motor and generator by
eliminating frequent reversal of shock.
Energy harvesting efficiency can further be improved
by reducing mechanical and electrical losses.
 29
Jason David Hedlund, Thesis Paper on Hydraulic Regenerative
Vehicle Suspension, retrieved from University of Minnesota Digital
Conservatory, http://hdl.handle.net/11299/103934. December 2010.

This paper looks into the feasibility of a hydraulic

regenerative shock absorber for vehicles.
The results obtained showed that the average power
outputs and efficiency were not as high as expected.
Several paths for future improvements were
discovered
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Schematic Diagram

Fig. 9 Regenerative Suspension System Schematic

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Work Plan and Methodology

Phase Description Timeline

Phase I Development of Basic Design September 2016

Phase II Determination of Design Parameters October 2016

Phase III Fabrication November December

2016
Phase IV Testing January 2017

Phase V Draft, Report and Final Project Submission February 2017

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Conclusion

Conventionally the vibrational energy of vehicle

suspension are dissipated as heat.
Energy harvesting shock absorbers bring hope for
recycling of wasted power.
With improvement of technology Energy Harvesting
Shock Absorbers may become one of the promising
trends of Vehicle Industry.
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References

[1] Yuxin Zhang, Xinjie Zhang, Min Zhan, Konghui Guo, Fuquan Zhao and Zongwei Liu,
Study on a Novel Hydraulic Pumping Regenerative Suspension For Vehicles, Journal of
Franklin Institute, Vol 352 issue 2 , February 2015.
[2] Chuan Li, Peter W Tse, Fabrication and Testing of Energy Harvesting Hydraulic
Damper Smart Materials and Structures, Vol 22 Issue 6- 065024, June 2013.
[3] Chuan Li, Rongrong Zhu, Ming Liang, Shuai Yang, Integration of Shock Absorption and
Energy Harvesting Using a Hydraulic Rectifier, Journal of Sound and vibration, Vol 333
issue 17, August 2014.
[4] Jason David Hedlund, Thesis Paper on Hydraulic Regenerative Vehicle Suspension,
retrieved from University of Minnesota Digital Conservatory,
http://hdl.handle.net/11299/103934. December 2010.
[5] Lin Xu, Xuexun Guo, Hydraulic Transmission Electromagnetic Energy- Regenerative
active Suspension and its Working Principle, Intelligent Systems and Applications, 2010
2nd conference, May 2010.
[6] John C Dixon, The Shock Absorber Handbook second edition, John Willey & Sons,
2008
Thank You