Vibration energy harvesting using an electromagnetic vehicle suspension system

• Grant number: 16/09650-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: May 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Mechanics of Solids
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Silveira
• Grantee: Guilherme Augusto Pestana Gradim
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In a typical vehicle damping system, viscous dampers dissipate energy as heat, ie, energy is lost to the environment. The implementation of an energy recovery system allows part of this energy to be recovered. Therefore, automotive vibration dampers are among the various application possibilities of electromechanical devices, which have advantages such as ease of application of active control and parameter tuning, being effective over a broader range of frequencies, and the possibility of system energy recovery. The concept of energy harvesting is based on the recovery of energy present in the environment and its conversion to electricity. Electromechanical transducers are well explored in engineering, and currently most of the attention is focused on piezoelectric or electromagnetic transducers. Electromechanical devices can replace external energy sources in embedded systems, providing electrical energy recovered from mechanical vibrations in the environment. Within this context, this work aims to analyse the dynamics of an electromagnetic damping system, with focus on application to regenerative vehicle suspension systems. The vertical behavior of a simplified car model will be analised, in which the conventional viscous damper is replaced by an electromagnetic transducer. In addition to an analytical study, a small scale experimental equipment will be built to verify the operating principle of such a system under harmonic and stochastic excitations.