GenShock Electricity-Generating Active Suspension is Coming to Passenger Cars, Eventually

I thought of a similar idea back in my teens some 20 - 25 years ago. I thought about using normal double acting hydraulic cylinders for the shocks and plumbing them into pressure accumulators and valves to control the ride and provide the fluid flow and pressure to drive a small hydraulic motor that assisted the engine.

The hydraulic motor would be added to the engine just like any other belt driven device but it would use a one way mechanical clutch that would only let it supply power to the engine if enough fluid flow and pressure were being produced by the suspension.

The fatal flaw came with my learning about physics and the math that goes with it. Yep. The potential return of energy numbers did not add up to being anywhere near justifying the system.

If you are wondering why think about your suspension system for a bit.

The springs absorb and then return energy with near zero losses while keeping the vehicle at a nearly constant averaged level. The shock absorbers simply dampen the springs compression and rebound efforts but they themselves also diffuse very little energy while doing it which is why for being a rather small size they do not get very hot even while doing their job under a heavy vehicle on a rough road.

I think the total mechanical energy being converted into heat by a single shock absorber works out to being around 50 - 150 watts over all average which when compared to the vehicles engine which is putting out hundreds of times that much energy it doesn't really mean much.

If you don't believe me try it. Just reach in behind one of your vehicle tires after driving a rough road and feel how warm your shock absorber is. I guarantee you won't burn yourself even if you just came off the worst backwoods dirt road you could find!

What about using it to compress air for air brake vehicles? When the air compressor kicks on it draws horsepower from the engine and consumes more fuel (or the vehicle slows down). The savings would be small but would add up. It would be nice if I could get my shocks to run the air conditioner.

I had a thought some time ago (not quite 20-25 years ago but close!) about using the shocks and the exhaust manifold/piping to generate power to run all the slaves that sap power from the engine. I thought if you have a 250 bhp motor in a vehicle, why not use that power to move the vehicle and not run everything else. What stopped my plan was how quickly the system got complex and would be too expensive for me to prototype and keep running. I have not given up, and as soon as I can think of a way to make it less complex I will play with it again.

Drew K

The only time the air compressor puts any load on the engine is when the brakes have used up enough of the air pressure in the system for the unloader valve to cycle on and even then the system recharges in a few tens of seconds or less. The rest of the time the compressor mostly just free wheels.

Besides when they do run they only take a few HP at most. 10 - 15 CFM at 90 - 110 PSI does not take much mechanical power.

With a truck that you make money from, it might help (as long as it doesn't cost too much in purchase/maintenance and hauling it around. I would look for more uses for that stored energy too. Would be great if you could accumulate and store enough energy to run the A/C when the truck is stopped.

Another idea, would be to use it on for city driving. Have the engine shut down when stuck at a traffic light or stopped in traffic (would be great in the states with all those silly traffic lights!) then have the hydraulic re-start the engine.

Perhaps some potential there?

Drew K

As I stated before the overall peak energy potential in suspension system energy recovery is so small that is not worth the efforts.

To get a extra 300 - 500 watts of electrical power from pure waste energy a simple bank of Seebeck thermoelectric devices attached to the vehicle exhaust would be capable of producing far more power for far less cost and engineering.

If you are really looking to gain fuel efficiency by eliminating energy waste getting rid of the emissions systems give the greatest efficiency bang for the least bucks. Working in that area of a vehicles wasted energy aspects can make for multi to tens plus percents gains where as suspension energy harvesting wont get you more that a few fractions of a percent gains in ideal conditions.

When you are riding a bike you don't worry about the fly on your head reducing your efficiency when you have a rope tied around your neck dragging a few cement blocks behind you.

I wonder if it would help drive a few extra miles in a city commuter like the French compressed air powered car?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266632/Car-runs-air-coming-soon-Peugeot-Citroen-unveil-new-117mpg-hybrid.html

Drew K

"it can raise each wheel without needing a jack" - ever try cutting a leg off a 4-legged table?

I submitted something similar about 20 years back, only it was to be Inductive.

While the spring would be used to take the bumps as normal, my coils in the casings
were supposed to generate electricity and supplement the batteries.
(have you seen how much these shocks vibrate! ... )

Unfortunately, "electric" cars were not in fashion then (like they are today) and
the manufacturers dismissed my idea as being of insufficient use. (killed the idea dead)

So, another idea bites the dust... next please... jt.

I went to the corner shop and bought a real Christmas tree.
The shop keeper asked, 'Are you going to put that up yourself'?
'No', I replied, 'I'm going to put it up in the living room'. Weirdo!