Design and Development of Regenerative Suspension System for EV Applications

Most of the vehicle’s fuel energy gets wasted as various forms of energy, mainly as heat energy and vibrational energy. The automobile uses roughly around 10–20% of the fossil fuel’s energy. Improvement in engine efficiency can be accomplished by lowering vehicle energy losses. The quantity of power lost in the vehicle’s suspension system is significant, posing a larger picture of how to harness this wasted energy by means of some technology. Other mechanisms for analogous applications are currently available on the market. The present study offers a new method called Spiral Drive Mechanism (SDM) to generate wasted power in the suspension system, particularly in EV trucks, and therefore enhance the battery electric vehicle (BEV) driving range. An energy storage system consisting of Li-ion battery connected through a Boost converter to a DC generator has been designed. The present work focuses on a simple design structure, cost effectiveness, and controller design to feed back the power generated back to the batteries, increasing the driving range of the EV vehicle. The proposed model has been designed to get implemented in heavy duty trucks as these trucks have the potential to generate more power when compared to the cars because of the weight of the vehicle and the terrain in which it is driven which also contribute significantly to the power generation from the suspension system.