Design and Potential Power Recovery of Two Types of Energy Harvesting Shock Absorbers

Numerous authors have studied Energy Harvesting Shock Absorbers (EHSA) over the last decade, proposing different designs with diverse geometries, parameters, and components. This article analyzes the energy recovery potential of two types of rotational EHSA, those that use ball-screw and those based on cable transmission. This paper presents the design, manufacturing and mathematical modeling of both options as well as the estimation of the potential power recovery with both technologies. Two types of vehicles are used as references, each one with the characteristic curves of their shock absorbers. Results are presented for different vehicle speeds and road types. Finally, some qualitative characteristics of both EHSAs are detailed to be taken into consideration for their possible use in vehicle suspension.