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The Design and Simulation Analysis of Electromagnetic Energy Regenerative

Suspension System

Article · November 2013

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33835-9_55

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Hongbin Ren Sizhong Chen

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F2012-E04-023

THE DESIGN AND SIMULATION ANALYSIS OF

ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY REGENERATIVE SUSPENSION

SYSTEM

Hongbin Ren; Sizhong Chen; Zhanzong Feng

Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

KEYWORDS—electromagnetic suspension; energy regenerative; structural design; damping

characteristics; skyhook control

ABSTRACT

The paper estimates the power dissipation of the traditional passive suspension under the
different work condition, and the practicability of regenerative shock absorber is proved.
Based on the fact, a novel scheme of electromagnetic regenerative shock absorber is proposed.
The damper and electronic characteristics of the regenerative shock absorber are studied, and
to improve vehicle comfort, a control algorithm is suggested, the controller uses the
information from accelerometers and other sensors to change the external resistance of the
circuit, which stiffens or softens the suspension. The modeling of the regenerative suspension
system is studied and simulated in Matlab/Simulink. The results indicate that the regenerative
suspension works best when used on the off-road. And compared with the traditional passive
suspension or other semi-active suspension, the regenerative suspension could reduce the
vibration of vehicle body and improve the passengers’ comfort.

INTRODUCTION

The regenerative suspension is a novel suspension system[1] that converts the vehicle body
vibration energy into the electrical energy, and the damping force could be adjusted easily and
in real time. As automobile industry development, energy crisis and environment pollution
problem are increasing, energy-saving in automobile industry attacks more attention and is the
most practical measure to solve these problems. The study of regenerative suspension is a hot
research topic in recent years [2]-[3].

The significant characteristic of the suspension is that vibration energy from the road
excitation can be regenerated and transformed into electric energy while satisfying
performance could be maintained. The energy-regenerative suspension mainly incorporates of
the springs, motor and guiding mechanism. The springs bear the static load of vehicle body,
so that the energy consumption could be reduced considerably if the suspension is working in
the active mode. The most obvious features of the energy-regenerative suspension system is
that it could works in three operational modes through the control algorithm: when the motor
works in electromagnetic brake mode, it is the passive mode；when the resistance in the
circuit is adjusted according to the logical control algorithm, so that the damping force could
be changed and suitable to different working condition, it is the semi-active mode; when the
power sources in the vehicle supply to the motor, the motor will be as actuator, and it is the
active suspension mode[4]. The core technologies of the energy-regenerative suspension are
the design of the mechanical structure and the control algorithm, the control algorithm
decides when and how many Newtons of the actuator’s force, as well as the energy
management.

Several scholars and companies have studied the energy-regenerative suspension systems.
Okada researched the electromagnetic regenerative suspension used the linear DC motor to
achieve a good damping performance and recovery the vibration energy[5]. Suda suggested the
self-power active control using the coupled electromagnetic device[6]. Yu Fan suggested an
electromagnetic active suspension combination of a ball screw and permanent-magnetic DC
brushless motor[7]. Yu utilized the dual-overrunning clutched electro-mechanical regenerative
damper, and it could achieve high-low semi-active damping in a passive mode[8].

In the paper, the 1/4 car model is established, and the energy dissipation of traditional passive
suspension is estimated under the different road condition. A novel scheme of electromagnetic
shock absorber is proposed, it uses the rack and pinion mechanism to convert the unwanted
upward and downward linear motion of the piston to the rotary motion to drive an electronic
generator, and the electronic energy is fed into the car’s battery. And the mathematic model of
the permanent-magnetic DC brushless motor is established. The damping characteristic of the
energy-regenerative shock absorber and the damping performance of the vehicle are studied.

THE ENERGY COMSUMPTION OF THE PASSIVE SUSPENSION

To estimate the dissipation of tradition passive suspension, the 2DOF of 1/4 car model is
established, as in Fig 1. When the mass distribution coefficient  = 2 / is closing to 1,
ab y
the vibration of front and rear suspension system is almost independent. So the full car
vibration could be simplified 2DOF vibration model, and it simulates the vertical and lifting
movement of the vehicle.
 Fig 1 1/4 car schematic
According to the Second Newtonian Law, the vehicle dynamic equation can be describing as
following:
ms zs  cp (zs  zu )  ks (zs  zu )  0
mu zu  cp (zu  zs )  ks (zu  zs )  kt (zu  q)  0
(1)
Where
, ms is the spring zs is the displacement of the spring mass; ks is the equal
mass;
stiffness of cp is the damping coefficient; zu is the displacement of the unspring
suspension;
mass; k is the equal stiffness of wheel; q is the road random excitation.
t

Based on the established 1/4 car model, the dissipation energy of the traditional passive
suspension under different speeds and variable roads. Supposing that the damper converts the
vibration of the system into heat, and the dissipation energy could be estimated by the
following equation: 1
P= F (t) d[Z (t)  Z (t)]
T

T1 0
c s u

T c (Z (t)  Z 2
(t)) dt
 p s u
T 0 (2)
Where F is the damping force; P is the power dissipation of the passive suspension.
c
,

Based on an example of a heavy vehicle, the dissipation of the passive suspension is analyzed.
The parameters are as following: the spring ms 1400kg ，unspring mass mu 140kg ，
mass
1 1
the equal stiffness of k  60000N  m ，the stiffness of wheel  600000N  m ,
suspension ks t
the damping coefficient cp  4200N  s  m1 .
The energy dissipation of traditional passive suspension is estimated under A、B、C、D、E
road condition. And the results are shown in Fig 2.
 A
4000 B
CDE

3000

P/J/s
2000

1000

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
V/m/s

Fig 2 the energy dissipation of passive suspension

The simulation results show that: the higher the velocity of the vehicle, and the rougher of
the random road excitation, the greater energy consumption of the suspension. And it also
means that the energy recovery potential is greater.

THE DESIGN OF THE STRUCTURE AND CONTROL ALGORITHM

The traditional passive suspension mainly consists of the spring elements and damper. The
energy regenerative suspension is that the energy recovery device replaces the traditional
damper. There are many devices of the energy recovery, such as the hydraulic energy storage,
linear motor, rack and pinion mechanism, etc. Because of the rack and pinion mechanism is
simple in design and other advantages, so it is used in the paper.

1. The Working Principle and Characteristic of the Energy Regenerative Shock Absorber

The electromagnetic energy regenerative suspension consists of the DC brushless motor,

rack and pinion mechanism and rectifier circuit. As the Fig 3 shows, when the wheel is
excited from the random uneven road input, the rack and pinion mechanism converts the
unwanted upward and downward linear motion between the spring mass and unspring mass
to the rotary motion, and through the speed-growth mechanism to improve the rotator speed
of the generator. The rotary coil cut the magnetic lines, the
change of the flux that crosses the coil made inductive electromotive force and inductive
current. The electricity and the magnetic field interact and produce the electromagnetic force.
And the electromagnetic force could constrain the vehicle body’s vibration, and at the same
time, the vibration energy is converted into the electricity energy.
 Fig 3 the structure scheme of the shock absorber
The rotating magnetic field of the brushless permanent magnetic motor is approximately sin
distribution. And the magnetic flux  could be expressed by the following formula:
  m sin wt
(3)
Where m is the maximum flux of each phase, Wb.
,   BS m
(4)
Where, B is the induction intensity of the magnetic poles, T；S is the cross-sectional areas of
2
the magnetic poles, m ; w is the speed of the motor rotor, rad /s .

The inductive electromotive force of the motor stator is:

d
e  N
dt
(5)
The effective of the electromotive force is:
1
E 1
d NBSw
2 N dt 
2 (6)
Suppose that the relative velocity of the shock absorber is v , i.e. the velocity of the rack is v ;
the radius of the gear that meshed with the rack is r ; the transmission ratio of the
speed-growth mechanism is i . And the speed of rotor is:
v
w i
r (7)

1 v
E NBS i
2 r (8)

E  ke v
(9)
1 1
Where k = NBS  i ， k is the physical quantity that reflects the structure parameter of
,
e e
2 r
motor.

From the equation (9), we may conclude that, the inductive electromotive is proportional to
the relative velocity, the amplitude is greater, and E is greater.
From the viewpoint of energy conversation, the damping force could be deduced:
Fv 
EI (10)

1
F ki
e
 (11)
Where,  is the mechanical efficiency; I is the current Value in the closed circuit.

By the above analysis, we could acquire the following conclusion: the damping force of the
energy regenerative shock absorber is inversely proportional to the resistance in the circuit;
and proportional to the current in the circuit.

2. Skyhook Control Algorithm

The skyhook control algorithm was proposed by Karnopp, and it is based on the optimism
control theory[9]. The skyhook controller could constrain the vibration of the vehicle body.
Though the controller is impossible of achievement, it provides a good idea. The shock
absorber fitted between the spring mass and unspring mass tracks the skyhook force, and it is
proved that the control algorithm could reach or approach the ideal controller and achieve a
good performance. The control algorithm could be expressed by the following equation:
Fd  cd 
zs  zu   csky zs (12)

Where, cd is the equivalent damping coefficient; csky is the skyhook damping coefficient.

And the ideal control force is:

csky zs (zs  zu )  0
us   zs
0 zs (zs  zu )  0
 (13)

THE GENERATING MECHANISM OF THE ENERGY REGENERATIVE

SUSPENSION

1. The Mathematics Model of the Generator Motor

The stator winding is run by the square current so as to reduce the torque ripple. To simplify
the analysis, we supposed that: when analysis on the magnetic circuit, we ignore the magnetic
saturation, magnetic hysteresis and eddy current; and the three-phase winding is symmetry.
The mathematics model of the permanent magnetic motor is following：

u   Ri di di
 d L
sd d d

 d
t
 wLqiq u  R i  L q  wL i  w
d d

q s q q
(14)
f
dt

Fig 4 Matlab/Simulink scheme of the controller model

Where ud is the voltage of the d axis, and uq is the voltage of q axis； id is the current of
,

the d axis, and iq is the current of q axis； Ld is the inductor of the d axis, and Lq is the inductor

of q axis； f is the flux of permanent magnetic; w is the rotator velocity of the magnetic field;

R is the stator resistance.

2. Modeling and Simulation of the Motor

The simulation model of the motor is establish in Matlab/Simulink, and considering the 1/4
car model, as the Fig 4. The input physical values are the relative velocity of the suspension
and the acceleration of the vehicle body. And the driving module of the permanent
magnetic motor mainly includes:
1 The main circuit module includes the motor module and the frequency
converter module.
2 The switch logical module, its function is to have a logical decision to the input signal
and output the control signal.
3 The motor logical control module, it decides the switch of the main circuit open or
close, so as to soft or harden the damping force.

THE SIMULATION OF THE ENERGY REGENERATIVE SUSPENSION

To analysis the performance of the energy regenerative suspension for the vehicle comfort
and its potential of energy recovery, the simulation model is establish based on the sky hook
control algorithm in Matlab. And compared with the traditional passive suspension, the
results are shown in Fig 5~Fig 8.
5
regenerative semi-active passive
4

2
1

a_body/m/s
0

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5
0 2 4

t/s

Fig 5 the vertical acceleration of the spring mass

2.5 regenerative semi-active passive
PSD of vehicle body's acceleration/m /s 3

2.0
2

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25

f/Hz

Fig 6 the PSD of the vertical acceleration of spring mass

passive
0.08 regenerative semi-active

0.06
displacement of vehicle body/m

0.04

0.02

0.00

-0.02

-0.04

-0.06

-0.08

-0.10

0 2 4 6 8

t/s

Fig 7 the vertical displacement of vehicle body

From Fig 5~Fig 7, it can be conclude that, compared with the traditional passive suspension,
the energy regenerative suspension could constrain the vibration of the vehicle body and the
root mean square value of the vehicle body acceleration declines by 13.5%, so it could
improve the vehicle comfort remarkably.
 the instantaneous value
the effective value
18

16

14

12

10

I/A
8

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
t/s

Fig 8 the instantaneous and effective current value of the generator

The results of the Fig 8 indicate that, the energy regenerative suspension could recovery
some vibration energy, and the instantaneous current can be rectified and store the energy
into the battery.

CONCLUSION

The study was conducted to determine the possibility and limitation for the energy
regenerative suspension, and then suggested a design scheme of the energy regenerative
damper.

A novel scheme of electromagnetic regenerative shock absorber is proposed, it uses the rack
and pinion mechanism to convert the unwanted upward and downward linear motion of the
piston to the rotary motion to drive an electronic generator, all the electronic energy is then
fed into the car’s battery, and it could lower the fuel consumption depending on the vehicle
and driving condition. Especially when such a system is adapted to a hybrid vehicle or
electronic vehicle, it is possible to recharge the vehicle’s battery with this energy and hence
extend its mileage.

Compared with the traditional passive suspension or other semi-active suspension, the
regenerative suspension could reduce the vibration of vehicle body and improve the comfort
and handling stability.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by Ministerial Level Foundation of China (2220051229). The
authors express gratitude to MLFC for the financial support. The authors would also like to
thank the reviewers for the valuable observations and suggestions.

REFERENCE

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and Control, Japan, 1996.
[2] Dongpu Cao, Xubin Song, Advanced Suspension Systems and Dynamics for
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[3] Energy Recovery in Recuperative Damping Systems (Regenerative Suspension
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[4] Zheng Xuechun, Theoretical and Experimental Study of Automobile Electrical
Energy-regenerative Active Suspension [D], Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
2007.
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Motor Type Damper [C]. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Motion
and Vibration Control, Vol.3, Chiba, 321-326.
[6] Kimihiko Nakano, Yoshihiro Suda, Shigeyuki Nakadai, Self-powered active
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