Tufts develops regenerative electromagnetic shock absorber

[Peter7307]

Sort of related to that...Porsche fitted a system by Boge on the front of the 911 series as an option.
The idea was the vertical movement of the front provided power to provide pressure to power the self leveling at that end of the car.
The logic was the self leveling ensured the front of the car was at the optimal attitude of aerodynamics (and headlight alignment as an aside) regardless of the luggage placed in the trunk , which was at the front since the engine was at the rear.

Worked well but was not cheap to fit or maintain.

Pete.

[bbjsw10]

That is just too awesome and simple to believe. I had never even though of somehow capturing the energy of the cars bounce. Technology shall save us all.

[jjackstone]

I have been intermittently follow this technology for several years mostly because the same thought had occurred to me back in the mid-nineties. As has been mentioned a few times, this is essentially the same technology as is being used in wave generation. Here is a link to a Rockwell abstract from a few years ago.
Frictionless Linear Electrical Generator for Harvesting Motion Energy - Storming Media
The reason I mention them is because they came up with an extremely low friction coating which I can no longer find a link to that I helps to increase efficiency.

Following is a link to Masters Degree thesis from 2004 investigating the same idea.
Title page for ETD etd-11052004-145157

I really like this idea but would like to see actual test data to believe it. From the information released that states a max power output of up to 50KW, one would think a large buffer(maybe supercap) would be needed also. The other thought I always had was that in a particularly windy area, if the vehicle were left outside a lot then it would also be able to partially recharge in the wind.
Or if you were a bit low on charge, get a few friends to help bounce the vehicle up and down for a few minutes couldn't hoit.
JJ

[wagonman76]

This is cool, great idea. Sounds like a spinoff of ocean wave power generators. Charlevoix county Michigan roads are some of the worst as well. If you could afford a low slung sports car here, you couldnt drive it without bottoming out all the time. Hey maybe thatll get the roads fixed. Free energy from garbage roads? By golly we cant have that

[Funny]

Yeah, I guess living in New England can have its advantages, I would get these if they were two times as expensive (or less) than replacement shocks... Problem is that in winter here, the snow fills in the pot holes!

[Piwoslaw]

Bumping with a new link
Regenerative shock absorber recovers energy from bumps in the road

They predict that a full-scale system on a four-wheel car should be able to recover up to 256 watts under these driving conditions.

“For typical driving conditions, we are predicting the ability to harvest approximately 64 watts per wheel, for a total of approximately 256 watts,” says Zuo. “This value increases considerably when the system is used on irregular roads.”

Irregular roads? Like outside of the laboratory? Yeah, I know a few...
250W is short of multi-kW, but should be noticeable. I wonder what the weight penalty is, though.

[Angmaar]

That looks awesome! You wouldn't need an alternator if you had those "regen" shocks.

[shovel]

um... couldn't you just tie buttkickers onto some part of your suspension, wire them through a bridge rectifier & a rail of 7812's and be done, today, without changing anything about your car?

[cfg83]

Piwoslaw -

256 watts / 12 volts = 21.3 Amps.

Ha ha, on old European cobblestone roads, I'll bet you could have an electric Smart going round and round in circles. The bumpier it is, the closer it is to achieving over-unity, .

CarloSW2

[Christ]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Piwoslaw -

256 watts / 12 volts = 21.3 Amps.

Ha ha, on old European cobblestone roads, I'll bet you could have an electric Smart going round and round in circles. The bumpier it is, the closer it is to achieving over-unity, .

CarloSW2

I don't really think it's over-unity in that case? Although all the energy does have to come full-circle, even though it's through several different circuits.

I guess it could be that way, really...