Simulink model of a Regenerative Shock Absorber

Abstract

The field of the Electric Vehicles (EVs) is becoming a strategic laboratory for new solutions focused on the energy saving and/or the renewable energy sources. Regenerative brakes are well known and already applied in recent cars. In this paper, instead, the attention is focused on a regenerative Shock Absorber (SA), which converts its vibration - induced by the road roughness - in electrical energy. The vibration is transmitted to an electric generator through a mechanical component. Finally, the produced energy can be stored in a super capacitor for a future use. The paper proposes a Simulink-based model of this regenerative SA and compares the energy performance when the vehicle travels roads with different roughness, scientifically defined by means an index, said IRI.