Design of a Linear Generator for Energy Harvesting from Interstitial Space in Suspensions

Due to the increase in the electrification of road transport vehicles, energy harvesting technologies are being more considered. This paper investigates the possibility to introduce a permanent magnet linear generator in the interstitial space of a common suspension system. An optimized geometry described by recent papers is exploited to evaluate the efficiency of energy harvesting with a complete multi-physical finite element method simulation including the electrical circuit for harvesting and the mechanical differential equations. Poor quality and good quality road profiles are generated and the suspension with embedded generator is tested with different vehicle velocities in a multiphysics finite element simulation. The simulations point out that the output voltage of a designed single three-phase linear generator is enough for a slow recharge of a 100Ah-12V car service battery.