CibbuanoMIT develops shock absorbers to generate power in vehicles
February 18th 2009 22:58
It's a simple idea - as a vehicle drives down the road, the irregularities in the road cause the car or truck to bounce as it travels. All vehicles have shock absorbers to minimize the bouncing that would occur, but undergrads at MIT suggested a simple idea: instead of throwing away this 'absorbed' energy, what if we harnessed it?
"Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall vehicle fuel efficiency by using the regenerative shock absorbers. The company that produces Humvees for the army, and is currently working on development of the next-generation version of the all-purpose vehicle, is interested enough to have loaned them a vehicle for testing purposes."
Ten percent sounds like a tiny amount, doesn't it? Actually, the 10% increase in fuel efficiency is huge... that's a massive improvement, meaning you can go further with your gallons of gasoline.
And, the most important thing is, you already need shock absorbers in your car, and that energy is going to waste.
This is another entry of devices that captures energy that we need to get rid of, then reclaimed... I remember being wowed by the subway station in Japan that used the vibration in the floors to power the station's lights.
This shock absorber idea is probably headed straight for commercialization, though they admit that it's more practical for big trucks, since the mass of the vehicles provides more power.
"In their testing so far, the students found that in a 6-shock heavy truck, each shock absorber could generate up to an average of 1 kW on a standard road - enough power to completely displace the large alternator load in heavy trucks and military vehicles, and in some cases even run accessory devices such as hybrid trailer refrigeration units."
That could add up to big savings for long-haul trucking companies, who need to keep the trailers cold when transporting meat and produce. With the patent for the device submitted, we can hopefully see this technology appearing in trucks all over the country.
Australia could doubly benefit for this - it's hot in the desert, and the roads are awfully bumpy!
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