Electromagnetic regenerative damping in vehicle suspension systems

An analysis is presented of energy regeneration in vehicle suspension syste ms, using electromagnetic devices, Previous research has shown that the amo unt of energy dissipated in vehicle suspension systems may be worth regener ating for purposes such as electric vehicles, where energy efficiency is a primary concern. A generalized electromagnetic topology is proposed to assi st in the design of an optimal regenerative damper. This leads to an analys is of the electrical and magnetic circuit designs of electromagnetic regene ration devices together with an analysis of rotating and linear dampers. Ro tating electromagnetic dampers have the advantage of mechanical amplificati on, but degrade the vehicle dynamics. A solution to this problem is propose d, using extra dynamic elements in series with the rotating damper. The imp lementation of this design will allow the use of smaller, and cheaper, rota ting electromagnetic regenerative devices for use in vehicle suspension sys tems.