Kandidatexamensarbete med inriktning

Fordonsteknik

SA115X, VT 2016

Review of Methods for Energy Harvesting

from a Vehicle Suspension System

Jesper Eriksson Shwana Piroti

Stockholm, Sweden 2016

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES
Preface
This report focuses on already existing literature in the field of energy regeneration, more specifically
in vehicle suspension systems. The findings in this report are therefore not new but the evaluation
and comparison of the information is.

The report has been supervised by Associate Professor Jenny Jerrelind and examined by Associate
Professor Jenny Jerrelind and Professor Annika Stensson Trigell at the Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH) in Stockholm.

Both authors were equally involved in producing the contents of all sections of this report.

jesperik@kth.se, 940426-3312
shwana@kth.se, 940207-5379

Stockholm, June 14, 2016.

Jesper Eriksson Shwana Piroti

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Abstract
With the increasing population the energy consumption has increased which makes the requirement for
clean energy important, now more than ever. The transport sector is one of the biggest contributors to
this consumption and should therefore be taken into consideration when looking for environmentally
friendly solutions. The majority of fuel energy in road-bound vehicles of today is dissipated and is
therefore never utilized. For a passenger car traveling at 13.4 m/s it is found that 200 W worth of
energy is lost in the vehicles suspension system.

The purpose of this work is to analyze and evaluate existing methods for energy regeneration from
vehicle suspension systems in order to identify the most optimal solution. To end with, the report will
propose mathematical models for simulations of the chosen system.

This report examines electrostatic, piezoelectric and electromagnetic methods of energy regenera-
tion and it is concluded that electromagnetic generators are the most viable when applied to vehicles.
Furthermore, already existing ideas for regenerative suspension systems using electromagnetic gener-
ators are explained and compared. It is concluded that a suspension system using an electromagnetic
generator coupled with a magneto-rheological (MR) damper is the most optimal when looking at effi-
ciency, cost, robustness and environmental impact. It can generate up to 90 W and is shown to be the
most robust system because of its few moving parts. The working principle of the regenerative elec-
tromagnetic MR damper is explained and mathematical models describing the characteristics of the
MR damper and the electromagnetic generator, based on previous work, are proposed. A simulation
model using a quarter-car model is also proposed where different methods of road profile generation
are suggested. The environmental aspects of the regenerative MR damper is conclusively discussed
and evaluated so that the overall environmental performance of the system can be decided.

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Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Aim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Literature review 2

3 Review and comparison of existing solutions 4

3.1 Ball-screw electromagnetic energy harvester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Rack-pinion electromagnetic energy harvester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3 Hydraulic electromagnetic regenerative damper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4 Linear electromagnetic energy harvester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.5 MR electromagnetic regenerative damper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.6 Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4 The regenerative MR damper and its working principals 12

4.1 The MR fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2 Quasi-static analysis of an MR damper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.3 The equivalent quarter car model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.4 The linear energy harvester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5 Sustainability 18

6 Conclusion 19

7 References 21
1 Introduction
One of the biggest issues faced today when it comes to sustainability is the energy crisis which has
led to great challenges in the development of energy efficient and environmental friendly solutions of
everyday life. One of the largest areas of concern is the transport sector which has already seen great
improvement in recent years. When looking at road-bound vehicles only 14 -30 % [1] of the fuel energy
is used for the mobility of the vehicles. A large amount of the consumed energy is dissipated into heat
through vibrations. So a way of reducing the energy consumption would be to harvest some of the
energy that is dissipated.

1.1 Aim
The aim of this report is to determine what possibilities a regenerative suspension system has for
improving the energy consumption in vehicles.

1.2 Method
The aim of this report will be achieved through the following steps:
• Perform a literature review
• Compare the most promising solutions
• Analyze the most optimal solution
• Propose mathematical models for the chosen system
• Discuss the sustainability of the system.

1.3 Outline
This report is based on a literature survey covering previous work in the field of energy harvesting.
Initially, the issue with low energy efficiency in vehicles is discussed in Chapter 1 and it is explained why
a regenerative system would help to solve this problem. Some of the recent research and development
in the field of energy harvesting is covered in Chapter 2 to obtain a comprehensive overview of the
field. After looking at some of the conventional methods used the report continues by comparing
the more promising technological solutions proposed by the studied literature in Chapter 3. The
different methods for energy regeneration are compared and the efficiency of these based on the amount
of harvested energy, potential production cost, robustness etc. is evaluated. The most prominent
technology is further analyzed and mathematical models are presented in order to describe the given
system in Chapter 4. Possible limitations with the proposed models is taken into consideration in
order to determine the validity of the modeled system. The sustainability of the system is thereafter
determined in Chapter 5. This is done by putting the regenerative capability of the proposed system
in perspective to other environmental factors affected by the system. Finally, conclusions are drawn
in Chapter 6, based on all the gathered data and information, regarding what possibilities the energy
harvesting technology have for the society.

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2 Literature review
One of the major applications of the wheel suspension system is to prevent the vibrations of the wheel,
caused by road roughness, to be transferred to the vehicle body. This is done by having a damper
that absorbs the energy from these vibrations. According to simulations carried out by Segel et. al.
[2] a passenger car traveling on a poor roadway at 13.4 m/s dissipates approximately 200 W worth
of energy only from the dampers on the car. If the mechanical energy, on the other hand, could be
converted to electrical energy and redirected into different features of the vehicle it would provide less
dissipation of energy. This conversion can be done with the help of, for example, an electromagnetic
generator. Depending on the construction of the suspension system this electromagnetic generator can
either be rotary or linear.

There are a variety of different methods to achieve the conversion of energy. Zhang jin-qiu et. al.
[3] compares different electromagnetic regenerative suspensions. An example of a suspension system
that utilizes a linear electromagnetic generator is the direct-drive electromagnetic suspension [4] which
turns linear motion caused by vibrations into electrical energy needing no transmission. Ball-screw and
rack-pinion electromagnetic suspensions, on the other hand, converts the linear motion into rotational,
using a mechanical transmission. It is this rotational energy that then is converted into electrical en-
ergy using a rotary electromagnetic generator. Nakano [5] proposed the use of self-powered ball-screw
active vibration control in truck cabins and a simulation was carried out. According to the simulation,
it was found that the dampers on the cabin was exposed to 87.02 W worth of vibrational energy and
that 31.63 W could be regenerated and stored. This means that the efficiency of the system is 36
% which is shown to be enough for the system to be self-powered. Zhang jin-qiu et. al. [3] reached
the conclusion that the self-powered magnetorheological (MR) damper and the hydraulic transmission
electromagnetic (HTE) suspension are the most effective ones. An MR damper is a damper that func-
tions by having an electromagnetic field run through the MR fluid in the damper and thereby regulate
the dampers stiffness. This process requires electrical energy and is therefore greatly improved when
made self-powered by integrating an electromagnetic induction (EMI) device into the damper system.
A downside of this structure is that the damper can not work with full efficiency during the regen-
eration process, making it mainly applicable in semi-active damper systems. The HTE suspension
functions by combining a hydraulic transmission with an electric motor. Displacement of the wheel
forces the piston inside the suspension to move and set the hydraulic fluid in motion. The fluid in
turn causes the motor to rotate and generate electrical energy. Just like the self-powered MR damper
the regenerative process of the HTE suspension only works while in semi-active state and just like the
self-powered MR damper the main use of the regenerated energy is to power the damper system. Both
the HTE damper and the MR damper are active damper systems which actively work to suppress
vibrations. Levant Power Corp. [6] have developed a HTE suspension, GenShock, which they claim
decrease the fuel consumption of military vehicles by up to 6 %.

In comparison to the electromagnetic energy harvesting shock absorber Q. Wang et. al. [7] intro-
duced the dual-mass piezoelectric energy harvesting shock absorber (PESHA) as an alternative. The
principal design of this dual-mass PESHA consists of a spring, a lever, a fixed hinge and a piezoelec-
tric bar. When the piezoelectric material (PZT-4) is deformed it creates an electric field that can be
redirected and the electrical energy can be stored. Despite this being a relatively new field of use for
the piezoelectric energy harvester, there are other proposed system designs. According to Hyeoung
Woo Kim et. al. [8] the piezoelectric ”cymbal” transducer is designed to cause less exhaustion to
the piezoelectric bar and thereby increasing its life span. It is of importance that the system is me-
chanically stable because of the high cyclic stress it is exposed to. Hongseok Lee et. al. [9] proposed
a piezoelectric system consisting of two parallel plates integrated in a vehicle shock absorber. When
exposed to a load, the piston inside the shock absorber compresses the damping fluid and creates a
pressure which in turn deforms the installed piezoelectric plates, thus transforming mechanical energy
into electrical. Although the experimental results showed a moderately small amount of generated

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energy it was discussed that it was due to the fabricated system being a 1/10 scaling of an actual size
application.

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3 Review and comparison of existing solutions
The idea of regenerating dissipated energy into useful electrical energy has been around for a while and
often it is vibrations that dissipate in the form of heat energy. The idea is to make use of kinetic energy
in the ambient vibrations and regenerate it as electrical energy. Three of the most established methods
of achieving this are electrostatic, piezoelectric and electromagnetic. Electrostatic transducers operate
by having the overlapping distance between two electrodes of a polarized capacitor change when the
system is exposed to vibration. The introduced movement causes the voltage inside the capacitor
to change and thus gives rise to a current flow, which, with an external circuit, can be extracted.
The piezoelectric transducers utilizes external vibrations to deform a piezoelectric ceramic, causing a
voltage in the capacitor to arise and thereby generating electric power. Finally, the electromagnetic
transducers uses the relative motion between a magnet and a coil to change the magnetic flux in the
system. This generates an alternating current and voltage across the coil.

Although the piezoelectric method of converting mechanical energy into electrical is shown to be
very effective [7], the application for vehicle suspension systems is yet to be thoroughly tested. The
biggest advances for the scientific field of piezoelectricity seems to be in microscopic applications, such
as the development of MEMS [10]. The same is argued by Beeby et. al. [11] for the electrostatic
generator; they too are best suited for MEMS-applications.

Compared to piezoelectric and electrostatic methods of use, there is a lot of literature reviewing
the use of electromagnetic transducers applied to vehicle suspension systems. Systems such as the
ball-screw and rack-pinion suspension system, hydraulic transmission electromagnetic system, linear
electromagnetic system and regenerative magnetorheological (MR) damper systems are some that has
been acknowledged. These different types of electromagnetic systems will be reviewed and compared in
this section so that the most promising solution, with respect to the application of vehicle suspensions,
can be established and further analyzed.

3.1 Ball-screw electromagnetic energy harvester

Nakano [5] proposed a ball-screw electromagnetic damper to be used for regenerating energy from an
active truck cabin suspension system and then using that energy to power the system, thus making
it completely self-powered. The article discusses the feasibility of the system being self-powered by
examining the balance between the regenerated and the consumed energy of that system. The elec-
tromagnetic damper model used for this study consists of a DC motor, a ball-screw and a nut (see
Figure 1). The linear motions of the damping system caused by ambient vibrations is converted into
rotational motion by the ball-screw and nut configuration. The rotational motion transferred to the
motor induces a voltage which generates a current that is stored in an electric double layer capacitor
as electrical energy.

Figure 1: Schematic visualization of the applied ball-screw energy harvester configuration [5].

The energy regenerative damper and the actuators, located at the front and rear suspensions of the
truck, are connected to the same capacitor through relay switches. The circuits connecting the actua-
tors include variable resistors which are operated by an external computer. This allows for the electric

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current to be controlled so that a desired continuous motor force can be obtained, making the damping
system fully active. Simulations carried out showed that the average regenerated and absorbed energy
during a period of 20 seconds were 31.63 W and 55.39 W, respectively. This gave an efficiency of
36 %. These values were obtained with the assumption that the energy loss in the variable resistor is
neglected. When analyzing the actuators output power, while powered by regenerated energy, it was
shown that the actuators followed the desired output force well except for when the external forces on
the system became to large. This causes a deterioration in isolation performance. It was concluded
that the reason for the insufficient output force was due to a deficient capacitor voltage not sufficiently
raised by the regenerating damper. Despite the lack of actuator output power, the proposed system
out-performed both a competing semi-active and passive system.

3.2 Rack-pinion electromagnetic energy harvester

Li et. al. [12] suggested the use of an electromagnetic energy harvesting shock absorber with a rack-
pinion mechanism. The principle design of the shock absorber utilizes a rack and pinion to transform
linear motion into rotational (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: The energy harvesting shock absorber with rack-pinion mechanism [12].

With the use of a bevel gear the transmission is changed 90 ◦ and the rotation can be transferred to
the motor via a planetary gear. If the transmission ratio is chosen to be high the system can achieve
a high damping coefficient but this is limited by the fact that a large transmission ratio leads to a
low transmission efficiency. The choice of gears is very important because they are often the cause
for failure not only because of fatigue but also because roughness on the cog teeth can interfere with
the regeneration performance. There is also friction and backlash impacts in the system. In order
to reduce this the article suggest a roller that guides the rack. Teflon rings were also used between
the inner and outer cylinders to further reduce friction. The article used a permanent magnetic
DC motor as a generator. Even though this shock absorber was designed to be passive the article
mentioned that active suspension characteristics could be implemented by keeping the regenerative
shock absorber exposed to different electrical loads. Bench tests were performed and it was discovered
that the amount of regenerated power is dependent on the vibration frequency and electrical load from
the power charge circuit. The system was then installed in a Chervrolet Surburban SUV (2002 model)
and a road test was performed on an asphalted campus road at a speed of 48 km/h and an electrical
load of 30 Ω. The rack-pinion energy harvester had a peak power of 67.5 W and an average power of
19.2 W with a total energy conversion efficiency of up to 56 %.

3.3 Hydraulic electromagnetic regenerative damper

Both the ball-screw and rack-pinion mechanism, when used in energy regenerative shock absorbers,
causes the rotational direction of the generator to constantly change depending on if the shock absorber
is compressing or expanding. This constant change of rotational direction has a negative effect on the
generator and can be the cause for failure in the long term. The hydraulic transmission electromagnetic
energy regenerative active suspension was suggested as a solution to this by Lin et. al. [13]. The

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generator in this system is put in motion by a hydraulic fluid and has a constant rotational direction
regardless of if it is exposed to a compression or expansion.

Figure 3: The hydraulic transmission electromagnetic energy regenerative active suspension [13].

When this system is exposed to compression the piston (1) (see Figure 3) together with the plate (4)
creates enough pressure in the piston working cavity to force the hydraulic liquid through the non-
return valve (11) and travels through the high-pressure pipe (9) until it reaches another non-return
valve (12). Through this valve, the liquid reaches the electricity-generating cavity where it, with the
help of the energy accumulator (6), will set the hydraulic motor (7) into motion which in turn will
drive the electric generator (8). It is during this phase that the reacting force from the electric motor
causes the hydraulic motor to produce the damping force to the liquid which is the majority of the
shock absorbers damping force. After passing through the hydraulic motor the liquid passes through
the low-pressure pipe (5) to reach the non-return valves (2) and (3). This process makes sure that
the liquid flow is always in the same direction when passing through the electricity-generating cavity
which in turn causes the electric generator to have a constant rotational direction.

Lin et. al. [14] performed experiments on this system and found that it, despite its promising design
and impressive simulation results [15], proved to be relatively inefficient. The experiment showed that
the system only recovered 16.5 % of the vibrational energy it was exposed to. When developing the
system, the authors had not initially accounted for the linear loss. The report showed that the linear
loss of the oil accounted for 1/3 of the total energy. However, based on the mathematical model of this
loss, included in [14], it can be reduced significantly by increasing the inner diameter of the pipeline.
Even though this systems fundamental purpose was to reduce the energy loss in the generator from
the constant change of rotational energy, the report showed that 21.1 % of the energy was lost in
the hydraulic motor and the generator. The remaining energy loss is accounted for by the hydraulic
rectifier and other local losses.

3.4 Linear electromagnetic energy harvester

The linear electromagnetic energy harvester transforms the kinetic energy of a linear motion into
electrical energy through a permanent magnet generator. The magnet assembly typically consist of
permanent magnets and coils. In order to obtain good regeneration a key factor is to maximize the
magnetic flux density through the coils. The current in the coil is created by relative movement
between the magnets and the coils. One way of maximizing the magnetic flux is to implement highly

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permeable materials so that the reluctance of magnetic loops decreases. Zuo et. al. [16] designed
and tested a regenerative shock absorber in the configuration of a linear generator. An important
aspect of the regeneration system is the phase in which the coils in the linear energy harvester are
positioned. All adjacent coils are phased 90 ◦ from each other making each set of four coils one four-
phase configuration (see Figure 4). The linear energy harvester is made up of four of these sets making
a total of 16 coils. The four-phase configuration provides a more even regeneration of electricity with
one pair of the four-phase setup always in correspondence with the magnetic loops.

Figure 4: Diagram of the four-phase generator configuration with coils moving in the magnetic field
during the vibrations of the vehicle suspension [16].

The tested prototype of scale 1:2 showed promising results. An estimated translation to a full-scale
model in a suspension application would correspond to 16-64 W at 0.25-0.5 m/s RMS suspension
velocity. It was shown that the 1:2 scale system attained its best regeneration capabilities at around
10 Hz with an almost linear relation of 1:6 between the input voltage for the attached shaker system
and the output voltage of the regeneration system. After incrementally raising the input voltage to
around 1.5 V the relation stagnates. The regenerated power will be largest at around the resonance
frequency of the system.

Another method of achieving a higher magnetic flux density is by optimizing the thickness τma of
the magnets in the axial direction and the thickness τcr of the coil in the radial direction [17]. The
average magnetic flux will decrease when τcr is increased because this will lead to a bigger air gap
which in turn will cause a disruption in the magnetic field. However there is a optimal τma for a con-
stant τcr which means that when designing the shock absorber the coil thickness in the radial direction
should be as small as possible and the thickness of the magnets in the axial directions should be chosen
accordingly.

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Figure 5: (a) Magnet arrangement with single-layer axial magnets and iron spacers (b) Magnet arrange-
ment with single-layer axial magnets and radial magnets (c) Magnet arrangement with double-layer
axial magnets and iron spacers (d) Magnet arrangement with double-layer axial magnets and radial
magnets [17]

The magnet arrangement also has an influence on the magnetic flux. The arrangement of [16] can
be seen in Figure 5 (a) where axial magnets are used coupled with iron spacers. Figure 5 (b) shows
a configuration where radial magnets are used instead of the steel spacers which leads to a higher
density of the magnetic flux. Radial magnets are a new type of magnet that are magnetized in the
radial direction and can therefore increase the radial flux density. Another configuration is the double-
layer configuration (see Figure 5 (c), (d)) that provides better guiding of the magnetic flux and can be
implemented in both the shock absorber that used iron spacers and the one that uses radial magnets.
[17] shows that 26 W and 33 W can be generated when using single-layer respectively double-layer
configuration with both axial and radial magnets.

3.5 MR electromagnetic regenerative damper

Finally, the MR damper system suggested by Chen et. al. [18] is a self-sensing, self-powered, con-
trollable system where the power-generation and sensor function systems are integrated into the MR
damper itself. Integrating the systems leads to large space and weight reduction, cost-effectiveness, re-
liability and less maintenance compared to keeping the different arrangements separated, as previously
conducted by papers investigating MR dampers. The proposed system was simulated and a prototype
was tested in experiments. The experimental data matched well with simulations and theory for all
the examined functions comprising damper control ability, power generation and sensor functionality.
A cross-section of the fully assembled damping system is found in Figure 6. The vibration that is
imposed on the system causes the piston rod to move linearly. The power part and the sensor part of
the system are both directly attached to the rod and are therefore moving with it. The power part

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is consisting of primarily permanent magnets and coils. Because the inner layer of the power part is
attached to the moving rod a relative velocity occurs between the inner layer and the outer layer of the
power part. This causes a change in magnetic flux which in turn generates electrical power. The sensor
part is primarily consisting of a coil and a magnetized ring. When it moves with the rod it generates
a change in the magnetic circuit. As established by Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction the
movement will generate an electrical voltage in the coil which is proportional to the velocity of the
sensor. By measuring the voltage the velocity of the moving rod can be obtained. The damping ability
of the MR damper is attained by the MR fluid located in the damping part. The fluid exhibits a fast
transition from a liquid state to a semi-solid state in a matter of milliseconds when exposed to an
external magnetic field. This fast transition and the ability to measure the suspension velocity using
the sensor is what makes the damping force controllable and effective. The regenerative ability of the
power part is what makes the entire system self-powered and thus highly efficient.

Figure 6: Sectional view of the self-powered, self-sensing MR damper [18]

The experiment showed that the amount of power which could be generated and used for damping
load in a vehicle suspension with the relative squared velocity of 0.04-0.36 (m/s)2 was 10-90 W. It
was also shown that as the current to the damping controller increases, the damping force increases
gradually until it finally levels, due to saturation of the MR-liquid. The amount of damping force that
one MR damper could generate was about 2560 N with an induced current of 1 A.

3.6 Comparison
The five analyzed systems can be categorized in two different sections, rotational and linear based.
The rotational systems are the ball-screw, the rack-pinion and the hydraulic regenerative systems. The
remaining linear and MR systems are identified as linear based. Besides the necessity of being able to
regenerate enough energy these systems also need to be small, durable and inexpensive. They need to
be small enough to be implemented in existing vehicles, durable enough to withstand the impacts of
the road and inexpensive enough to interest customers.

When comparing the rotational based systems it can be stated that there are a few differences between
the ball-screw and the rack-pinion systems that makes the ball-screw more favorable in a suspension
aspect. The ball-screw system can generally be made smaller than the rack-pinion due to its simple
construction. This is a major advantage because fewer working components usually means a lower
cost and higher durability. The ball-screw also has a higher transmission efficiency than the rack-
pinion, making it more suited for a regeneration application. This is because the ball-screw model

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only utilize one transmission level while the rack-pinion have three, including a planetary gear inside
the motor. A greater number of transmission levels equal larger energy loss since each level dissipates
energy through friction. In conclusion it is, based on these criteria, decided that the rack-pinion con-
figuration is not the optimal solution. The remaining rotational based system that must be compared
with the ball-screw configuration is the hydraulic regeneration system. This system utilizes the fluid
pressure for the conversion of kinetic energy into electric. Obvious benefits with this system, compared
with ball-screw, is that the rotational direction doesn’t change with the change in linear motion of
the piston following the external vibration. A frequent alternation of rotational direction can cause
damage to the harvester which leads to lesser reliability. Because the ball-screw system utilizes energy
transformation through movement of solid components it is more fragile to sudden bump excitations
than the hydraulic system using fluids. This is due to the fact that the gears are prone to potential
damage when exerted by large forces; unlike the hydraulic system where the fluid itself is damping
the forces. Although the hydraulic system is more robust than the ball-screw it is shown to be less
energy efficient due to an extensive loss of energy largely caused by friction between the fluid and the
surrounding container. Compared to the 16.5 % power regeneration efficiency of the hydraulic system
the ball-screw energy harvester with its 36 % is clearly dominant. Note that the efficiency value of
the ball-screw generator is obtained from simulations and not experiments. The ball-screw can also
be made much smaller than the hydraulic system due to the simplicity of the design. The ball-screw
is the rotational based design that is the most optimal.

The regenerative MR damper and the linear energy harvester are very similar when it comes to their
regenerative characteristics which means that they have similar strengths and weaknesses in that re-
gard. Both systems have significant magnetic flux leakage which leads to a loss of potential regenerative
efficiency. Also as previously said the most efficient linear generator is the double-layer configuration
with both axial and, the more expensive, radial magnets. This means that the energy harvesters will
increase in size and in cost. What sets these two apart is their damping characteristics. The linear
energy harvesters gets its damping from the electromagnetic generator itself which at times could be
insufficient to provide comfortable damping or inefficient enough to not be self-powered. The MR
damper on the other hand can, with the help of the MR liquid, generate a large damping coefficient
which ensures comfortable damping. Another feature that sets the regenerative MR damper apart
from the linear energy harvester is its self-sensing system. This system causes the MR damper to react
faster to changes in the speed which leads to improved damping. It also prevents energy waste due to
it ensuring the damper is just as stiff as it needs to be. It is also integrated into the damper in a way
that doesn’t call for an external system to drive it which leads to faster response and a more compact
construction. The linear energy harvester is not a good enough replacement for a vehicles damping
system on its own but can be improved when installed in an MR damper.

When comparing the ball-screw energy harvester and the self-powered MR damper it can be shown
that the MR damper has a higher reliability. This is due to its components not being exposed to
the same type of mechanical wear as the ball-screw is, such as bump excitations. Having the kinetic
energy alternating in direction when driving the generator, as is the case for the ball-screw mechanism,
has the potential of causing damage to it. This is avoided using the linear regenerative MR damper
since the system that it uses is based on linear kinetic energy conversion. Another advantage of the
linear motion in the regenerative MR damper is that there is no inertia loss resulting from frequently
alternating the rotational direction. This in turn maintains regeneration efficiency and suspension
performance. The vibration control ability of the MR damper is exceeding that of the ball-screw with
it being able to react up to a 1000 times per second [19]. The MR fluid also has the ability of becoming
close to solid which ensures a high range of damping force, that is adjustable with high precision by
changing the overlapping magnetic flux. The MR damper has a low power requirement since the MR
fluid doesn’t require a large amount of power to generate the magnetic flux needed for the damping,
which in turn increases its power efficiency. LORD Corporation offers automotive suspension systems
that uses MR damping and states that the dampers max power requirement does not exceed 20 W

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[20]. In comparison, the ball-screw system suffers some decrease in regeneration efficiency due to the
amount of power needed for the generator (motor) in the harvester to generate enough damping force.
A disadvantage that the MR system has compared to the ball-screw system is its size and weight
difference. The simplicity of the ball-screw design leads to a smaller and lighter product wheres the
regenerative MR damper consist of a more complex system that causes it to be greater in size and
weight. Another disadvantage of the MR damper system is its production cost due to the expensive
MR-fluid which is a problem the ball-screw system, with its inexpensive design, doesn’t face. These
advantages that the ball-screw system has over the MR system are affective but not deciding factors
in the choice of the system for this report. The weight- and size issue of the MR damper system is not
definitive for it to not be installable in vehicles today.

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4 The regenerative MR damper and its working principals
The conventional MR damper has already seen application in a variety of vehicle models by companies
such as Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Ford, Range Rover etc. [21–24]. One
of the most widely used products on the market is the MagneRide system develped by BWI Group [25],
which is an MR damper configuration. Although the MR damper technology is already established on
the market, the application for regenerative MR systems has yet to be sufficiently introduced. Despite
the current situation, the demand might change in the coming years due to the increasing trend for
active suspension systems. Although an active system enables high comfort through precise control of
stability, it requires powering by the battery. Implementing a self-powered, active suspension system
in the form of a regenerative MR damper will therefore be attractive for the vehicle manufacturers
and also for the preservation of the environment.

This chapter studies the regenerative MR technology more thoroughly by investigating the funda-
mentals of the MR fluid as well as the system and its working components. It also gives a description
of the vehicle system which the MR damper is implemented in. This will lead to a more comprehen-
sive understanding of the regenerative damper which is desirable in order to reach a valid conclusion
regarding the systems functionality when applied to a vehicle suspension.

4.1 The MR fluid

The Magneto-rheological fluid (MR fluid) is, as described by Goldasz [26], a suspension of fine, non-
colloidal, low-coercive ferromagnetic particles in a carrier fluid. This fluid belongs to the class of
controllable liquids which has the ability to change from a liquid state to a semi-solid state with a
yield stress in the matter of milliseconds when exposed to an external magnetic field. What makes this
fluid so applicable for a vehicle suspension system is that it is controllable, reversible and fast reacting.
It also fulfills the important performance criteria of having a low initial viscosity, high shearing ability
when reacting to the magnetic field, low hysteresis, temperature stability and most importantly; low
power consumption.

When a magnetic field is applied to the MR fluid the solid particles dispersed in the fluid, created
by a number of sub-domains with initially randomly aligned dipole moments (see Figure 7), starts
to become ordered. This causes the sub-domains in a particle to align in a single direction creating
magnetic forces between the particles. This in turn generates chain-like structures in the direction
parallel with the magnetic field (see Figure 8). The particles will attract each other parallel to the
magnetic flux and repel each other in the perpendicular direction.

Figure 7: MR fluid particles when off-state [26]

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 Figure 8: MR fluid particles when on-state [26]

With the particles structured the fluid exhibits a yield stress which is dependent on the magnetic
field. The fact that the fluid receives an increased yield stress is what makes the damping effect in the
system possible. The rate at which the particles in the fluid form the chain-like structures is mostly
depending on the rate of which the magnetic field can increase and organize the particles. The yield
stress of the MR fluid can be increased by adjusting the particle density or by adjusting the magnetic
flux density [27]. Adjusting these parameters will lead to thicker particle structures that can withstand
higher forces and thus provides higher damping capability.

4.2 Quasi-static analysis of an MR damper

When analysing an MR damper as a quasi-static system three assumptions are made [28]; (1) the
MR damper is moving at a constant velocity, (2) the MR fluid is fully developed and (3) a simplified
Bingham model of plasticity is used. The Bingham model, when applied to an MR fluid, gives the
relation between the shear stress and shear rate as [26]

∂u
τ = τ0 + µ , (1)
∂x
where τ0 is the yield stress caused by the magnetic field, µ is the post-yield viscosity and ∂u
∂x is the
shear rate. The fluid in the damper flows through an annulus and can be analysed by either using an
axial symmetric model or a parallel-plate model (see Figure 9).

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Figure 9: (a) Stress and velocity profile through an annular duct. (b) Fluid flow through an parallel
duct [28]

According to [28], where both of these models are tested, the maximal error between them does not
exceed 0.5 % for h/R2 < 0.2 (see Figure 9). This means that the less complex parallel-plate model
can be utilized which has been done in other literature [26, 29]. In the parallel-plate model w is the
mean circumference of the annular flow and can be written as w = π(R1 + R2 ) and h is the distance
between the plates and can be written as h = R2 − R1 . For a Bingham fluid the pressure gradient can
be written as a quintic equation [30] that does not have an analytical solution but can, according to
[28], be reduced to
T
P (T, V ) = 1 + 2.07T − V + , (2)
1 + 0.4T
under the assumption that 0 < T < 1000 and −0.5 < V < 0 where P is the dimensionless pressure
gradient, T is the dimensionless yield stress and V is the dimensionless piston velocity and are defined
as
wh3 dp
P =− , (3)
12Ap v0 µ dx
wh2 τ0
T = (4)
12Ap v0 µ
and
wh
V =− (5)
2Ap

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where Ap is the cross sectional area of the piston head and v0 is the velocity of the piston head.
From this result the authors of [28] could determine the dampers resistance force Ft as a sum of the
controllable force Fτ due to the generated yield stress τ0 , the uncontrollable force Fuc that consist of
the viscous forces Fµ and frictional forces Ff . It is the ratio between the total resistance force Ft and
the uncontrollable force Fuc that gives an indication of the dampers performance. According to [28]
these forces are defined as
Ft = Fτ + Fµ + Ff , (6)
 
whv0 12µQLAp
Fµ = 1 + (7)
2Q wh3
and
τ0 LAp
Fτ = c sgn v0 (8)
h
where the constant c = 2.07 + 1/(1 + 0.4T ) in the interval [2.07, 3.07] [29].

4.3 The equivalent quarter car model

This chapter examines the regenerative MR damper when applied to a quarter car model. The model
is based on a mass-spring system created to simulate the working principal of a suspension system for
a vehicle when exposed to a vertical acceleration caused by road irregularities. Figure 10 shows an
example of a quarter car mass-spring system with two degrees of freedom.

Figure 10: Equivalent quarter car model with two degrees of freedom [31].

The quarter car model is obtained by individually decomposing the component parts from the linear,
mass-spring system, solving them and adding them together in order to get an accurate description of
the combined system. This generates the governing differential equations describing the force balance
for the mass-spring system. These can be derived as

MZ̈ + CŻ + KZ = Froad , (9)

with M being a matrix containing the involved masses, C a matrix containing the damping coefficients,
K the stiffness matrix for the system and Froad the input force from the road acting on the system.

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The vector Z contain the degrees of freedom for the system. For the special case when an MR damper
is applied to the mass-spring system the parameter CŻ in Equation (9) is substituted in order to
compensate for the specific damping capability of the MR damper. From Chapter 4.2 it was concluded
that the damping force that the MR damper could obtain was equal to the function given by Equation
(6). With MR damper systems applied to a given mass-spring system the Equation (9) can be rewritten
as
MZ̈ + F + KZ = Froad , (10)
with F being the vector describing the damping forces generated by the installed MR damping systems.
When looking at the model described by Figure 10, with a single MR damper applied, the vector F is
given by " #
Ft
F= , (11)
−Ft
where Ft is the damping force obtained from the function given by Equation (6). A relationship be-
tween the input force, Froad , and the displacements, Z, can be obtained from solving the differential
equation given by Equation (10). This relationship is interesting to study because it shows the amount
of displacement that is generated by having a given input force. More importantly; it implicitly shows
how much displacement is generated by having a given damper system; such as an MR damper.

The road profile generates the displacement Zr (see Figure 10) and can be obtained in several dif-
ferent ways. One method is to simply measure displacement Zr and then, by using a PSD [32],
transform this data from the time domain to the frequency domain. This allows for the measured
data to be analysed in the frequency spectrum and thereby allows for an analysis of the behaviour,
at different frequencies, of the input force from the road acting on the system. Another method of
obtaining input data for the road profile is by generating random data with the help of, for example,
Matlab. According to [7] the road profile data can also be obtained by solving the differential equation
q
q̇(t) + 2πf0 q(t) = 2πn0 Gq (n0 )v(t)w(t). (12)

The parameter Gq (n0 ) is the roughness coefficient for the road and is chosen based on the category of
the road (see Table 1).

Table 1: Road-roughness coefficients Gq (n0 ) [m3 ] classified by ISO/TC108/SC2N67.

Road class A B C D E F G H
Gq (n0 )(·10−6 ) 16 64 256 1024 4096 16384 65536 262144

4.4 The linear energy harvester

The proposed regenerative MR damper utilizes a linear energy harvester as an electromagnetic trans-
ducer to salvage energy from the working suspension. The physical principles upon which the linear
regenerative system is described is based on Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. When the
magnets and coils start to move relative to each other a change in magnetic flux, φ, appears. Faraday’s
law states that the induced electromotive force (EMF), ε, is proportional to the rate of change of the
magnetic flux. The direction of the induced EMF is given by Lenz’s law. Together these laws describes
the relationship
dφ
ε = −N , (13)
dt
where N is the number of turns the coil makes around the magnets [33]. When looking at the case
with a moving conductor, such as this one, the electromotive force can be described by
I
ε = (~v × B)~ · d~l, (14)

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when looking at a closed conducting loop. Here ~v is the velocity of the moving conductor which in
the case for the regenerative damper is caused by the vibration of the suspension. The magnetic field
flowing through the magnets is given by B ~ and the length of the conductor is ~l. Note that Equations
(13)-(14) are equivalent and that they are describing the induced EMF. For the specific case when the
length of the conductor, the velocity of the conductor and the uniform magnetic field are mutually
perpendicular; the EMF may be described by

ε = vBL. (15)

As described by Zuo et. al. [16]; the maximum current, I, generated by the linear energy harvester, is
given by the relationship
ε
I= = σBr vz Aw , (16)
R
where R denotes the resistance in the circuit, σ the electrical conductivity of the given conductor, Br
the magnetic field intensity in the radial direction of the conductor, vz the relative constant velocity of
the coil conductor in the axial direction moving in the magnetic field and Aw the cross-sectional area
of the conductor. The generated power, P , can then be described as

P = εI = Br2 vz2 σlAw , (17)

with the conductor length l. From equation (17) it is shown that a doubled increase of the magnetic
field, which can be obtained by having stronger magnets, generates a quadratic increase in output
power. This indicates the importance of having the right permeable materials and sufficiently strong
magnets, so that a strong magnetic field can be obtained. The same relationship can be seen between
the power and the velocity.

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5 Sustainability
The environmental performance of a product can be divided into three categories; low global impact,
low regional or local impact and resource efficiency. Low global impact refers to the products net
contribution of carbon dioxide, low regional or local impact refers to leakage, pass-by noise and ex-
haust emission, and resource efficiency refers to choice of material, choice of fuel and its end of life
treatment. Being one of the largest environmental hazards the vehicle industry is in need of increasing
the efficiency of energy use which leads to the question of whether or not the regenerative MR damper
is environmentally friendly.

The MR damper is able to make use of energy that otherwise would be wasted which would increase
the environmental performance of vehicles when regarding low global impact. Having such a system
implemented in the vehicles we use today can effectively contribute to making the cars and trucks more
environmental friendly and thereby lessen their carbon footprint. The energy that can be harvested
from the regenerative MR damper could be used to make the suspension system self-powered. The
harvested energy could also be used as stored electrical energy in the battery which can be at the
disposal for other systems. This means that the engine would not be needed to charge the battery
on its own and could therefore use this extra energy to drive the vehicle. Having a regenerative MR
system would therefore be beneficial for the decreasing of fuel consumption in vehicles and thus also
in decreasing the global impact.

Because the MR damper utilizes an MR fluid as shock absorbent in the damper system there is a
risk for leakage of this fluid. As stated by Flinn Scientific inc. [34] the MR fluid is classified as a
non-hazardous material and has therefore small negative effect on the environment if leaked. Consid-
ering this fact and the fact that using the regenerative MR damper also decreases exhaust emissions
and does not have any considerable effect on noise amplification in regard to other used systems, the
system has no regional or local impact on the environment what so ever.

Finally, the regenerative MR damper has a relatively high resource efficiency due to it being eas-
ily recycled, not demanding any fuel and is composed of non-hazardous materials. Since the iron in
the MR fluid can be separated out of the carrier liquid, it can be treated the same in a recycling
process as motor oil [35]. Furthermore, the MR fluid does not have any negative impact on the ozone,
as no Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are used when creating the liquid.

Because the regenerative MR damper is showing excellent environmental performance it can be con-
cluded that this system is sustainable and has an overall positive impact on the environment.

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6 Conclusion
This work investigated the application of regenerative suspension systems in vehicles. A briefing
of earlier literature comprising regenerative damping was carried out. Further investigation of the
electromagnetic regenerative damping technology was made by comparing five different technological
solutions. Theoretical analysis of the regenerative MR damper was conducted and the aspect of envi-
ronmental sustainability was reviewed.

From the literature review it could be concluded that the energy harvesters that utilized electromag-
netic generators were the feasible option due to its promising development in the field of regenerative
damping. Of the five compared electromagnetic energy harvesting models the regenerative MR damper
was chosen for further analysis. Even though the MR damper was associated with bigger size and larger
expenses, compared to the competing systems, it was concluded to be the best choice due to its high
efficiency. The MR damper showed dominating damping capability, high reliability and robustness
as well as promising energy regeneration potential. Furthermore, the linear electromagnetic energy
harvesting system used in the MR damper was shown to be capable of powering the damper, thus
making the regenerative MR damper a self-powered system.

The report describes the physical properties of the MR fluid, which is providing the damping ca-
pability in the MR system, with the quasi-static Bingham model. As mentioned in the report, when
using the quasi-static model three assumptions are made which limits its range of use but is, despite
this, viable when analyzing it for applications in a vehicle. The assumption that the MR fluid will
act as a Bingham fluid is utilized because it takes into account the characteristics of the MR fluid
when affected by a magnetic flux. The model for the pressure gradient limits the model regarding the
yield stress and the piston velocity but not to an extent that will affect its viability when looking at a
vehicle suspension system.

The environment in which the regenerative MR damper is applied was described using the quarter car
model. This model was chosen to be presented because it provides for an efficient and compact way
of describing the vehicle dynamics when excited by vertical displacement. Because the mass-spring
system is linear it can easily be solved by obtaining the differential equations generated by superim-
posing the individual components of the mass-spring system. Furthermore, the model can easily be
analyzed in Matlab, which is beneficial when studying simulations. Using this model, however, limits
the descriptive range of the vehicles dynamics by being linear. This makes the model inaccurate if
nonlinear dynamics comes into play. Because it is assumed that the tires of the vehicle is constantly
in contact with the ground, another limitation would be exceeded if a detachment of the tire, from the
ground, would occur. This example would result in a behavior of the system which cannot sufficiently
be described by the proposed model.

The regenerative MR damper was examined from an environmental point of view by rating its degree
of sustainability. This was done by looking at the environmental impact from three different angles –
namely, on a local scale, a global scale and by examining the resource efficiency of the damper. It was
shown that the regenerative MR damper had excellent environmental performance in all categories,
making it highly sustainable. The regenerative MR damper was demonstrated to have an overall
positive impact on the environment and therefore also on our society and the further development of
sustainable technological solutions.

The aim of the report was to investigate whether or not a regenerative suspension system for im-
provement of energy consumption in vehicles was possible and it can now be concluded that it is. The
regenerative MR damper showed promising results regarding both energy regeneration and damping
performance. An average passenger vehicle dissipates around 200 W and the regenerative MR damper
was shown to regenerate up to 90 W which means that a considerable amount of this, otherwise

19
wasted, energy can be utilized. This system can therefore maintain good ride comfort with the help
of the MR damper and reduce the vehicles environmental impact making the system highly desirable
for future implementation.

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