A Methodology for Optimal Design of a Vehicle Suspension System With Energy Regeneration Capability

This paper proposes a systematic methodology for predicting and optimizing the performance of an energy regenerative suspension system to efficiently capture the vibratory energy induced by the road irregularities. The method provides a graphical design guideline for the selection of stiffness and damping coefficients aimed at either best ride comfort or maximum energy harvesting. To achieve energy regeneration capability, a low-power electronic circuit capable of providing a variable load resistance is developed and fabricated. The circuit is controlled to provide an adjustable damping coefficient in the real-time. A test-bed is utilized to experimentally verify the proposed techniques. The results indicate that the analytical and simulation results concerning the optimal values for dynamic control and power regeneration match the experimental results.