A master's thesis at the College of Engineering at the University of Basrah discussed the study of energy harvesting from the suspension system of vehicles.
The thesis presented by the student Mortada Qassem Dinar dealt with the derivation and modeling of the energy harvesting system using the non-linear suspension system for a complete vehicle model using the Matlab program, where the system consists of a hydraulic cylinder, piston, three-way valve and hydraulic motor.
The performance characteristics of the system were compared with different suspension systems (passive, electromagnetic, and active) and it was found that the performance of the system is highly comparable with that of the active system. Three different pressure levels (10, 30, and 50 bar) were used, along with three different input signals (random, sinusoidal, and square) and a fractional proportional integral derivative control system.
The thesis aims to reduce the energy use of each vehicle for the purpose of saving energy for other works and thus increasing the efficiency of the engine. The thesis concluded that the performance characteristics of regenerative suspension systems can be close to the performance characteristics of active suspension systems and better than simple and electromagnetic systems.
