REGENERATIVE SHOCK ABSORBER Prof.

Amarnath Kaushik J & Ankit Mehta December 2004-January 2005

Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Abstract Mechanical Design Working mechanism Testing and results Applications Pictures

1. Abstract Energy conservation is the need of the hour. With dwindling resources of conventional sources of energy, the emphasis is on efficient methods of utilization of available energy. With this as the primary aim, the regenerative shock absorber (RSA) was designed. It consists of a series of coaxial cylinders mounted on a lead screw. Between the outermost set of cylinders are two sets of spiro-helical springs which coil and uncoil alternately as the setup slides up and down along the lead screw and thus rotate the outermost cylinders. The outermost cylinders have gears mounted on them which are further engaged to gears on motors. These motors now function as dynamos converting the mechanical energy of the spinning cylinders to electrical energy that can be stored in a battery.

This concept has a tremendous impact once in operation and can significantly reduce the energy losses through the conventional shock absorbers. 2. Mechanical Design 2.1. Description of the structure The mechanical description of the structure of RSA is as follows. A sectional view of the shock absorber is shown in the figure below.

Figure showing the sectional view of the RSA

As shown in the figure, the backbone of RSA is the lead screw (shown in grey) in the centre having length of about 25 cm. Sliding on the lead screw are two nuts which are connected to each other by a cylinder (in red). The cylinder is made of 1 mm stainless steel. Mounted on the cylinder at top and bottom respectively are two sprag clutches (rectangular blocks in dark grey) of inner diameter 35 mm. Surrounding these sprag clutches is an arbor (shown in blue) The arbor is connected to two spiro-helical springs (vertical grey columns). While one end of the springs is attached to the arbor, the other ends are connected to two outer cylinders (shown in green). Two more sprag clutches are mounted onto the arbor. These sprags are sandwiched between the arbor and a grounding ring. The grounding ring is fixed onto the mounting plate of the RSA and is thus not free to rotate. Mounted on the grounding ring is a bearing enveloped by the outer cylinder. Also mounted on the outer cylinder is a ring gear. This gear is engaged to the spur gear on the motor fixed onto the mounting plate. The motor functions as a dynamo in this case converting the mechanical energy into electrical energy. 2.1.1. Lead Screw The central screw used in our case was a normal lead screw. The screw was multi-start threaded. This offers an advantage over the single threaded compatriot that the force acting on the thread is now uniformly spread over several threads rather than a single. This prevents the easy wear and tear of the threading and increases its longevity. Also the pitch of the screw is very large (about 95 mm). The force imparted to the screw is perpendicular to the threading.

In order to increase the useful component (horizontal component) of this force and the net useful work, the angle of inclination of the threading to the horizontal must be maximum. This feature is accommodated by choosing a large pitch. 2.1.2. Sprag Clutches Sprag clutches function like bearings except for the fact that they provide only a unidirectional rotational freedom. When rotated in one direction say clockwise, it functions exactly like a bearing but it gets jammed on rotation in the opposite direction. This property is exploited in the above application. Both sets of sprag clutches are arranged in such a way that when the inner cylinder rotates only one of them is free and consequently the corresponding spring gets wound or unwound. Also the outer set of sprag clutches is set complimentary to the inner ones such that if the inner one is free the outer is jammed and vice-versa. 2.1.3. Springs The springs used in our application were spiro-helical springs made of spring steel. They are mechanically fitted in such a way they coil alternately i.e. at any instant of time only one of the springs is coiled. In our case, they are designed to transmit torque up to 5 Nm. Spiro-helical springs were chosen mainly because they are smaller than other springs for the same torque rating and thus result in a compact structure. The springs used were of outer diameter 85 mm and with four coils while a corresponding spiral spring would have had a diameter of about 140 mm. Another generally property of springs that was exploited was that when free to uncoil, the outermost point of the spring always does so with a constant angular velocity irrespective

of the energy of the loaded spring. This results in a constant output despite the fact that the incoming shocks (input) is completely random. 3. Working Mechanism 3.1. Brief description The working of the RSA can be understood with the example. Consider a shock transmitted to the lead screw RSA and say the set up moves down along the lead screw. The shock is then converted into the rotatory motion of the inner cylinder resulting in the coiling of only one of the two springs (say upper one in this case). Also the corresponding outer sprag clutch is jammed preventing the rotation of the outer cylinder and there by keeps the spring coiled up. Meanwhile the lower spring is unaffected as the corresponding inner sprag is jammed. Now, the set up has to recoil and regain its normal position. As it moves up, the outer sprag clutch on the top is free while the inner one is jammed. Thus the outer cylinder is now free to rotate and corresponding spring uncoils. Meanwhile, the inner sprag clutch on the lower side is free while the outer one is jammed resulting in winding of the lower spring. This spring uncoils itself when the set up moves down again after another jolt. Thus the cycle continues. 3.2. Electrical analog Full Wave Rectifier The working of the RSA can be treated analogous to the functioning of a full-wave rectifier circuit. The four diodes used are equivalent to the four sprag clutches. The left hand waveform shows the input voltage. The voltages at points A and B on the transformer are changing in opposite directions. When A is increasing in a

positive direction, B is increasing negatively. It is like the opposite ends of a see-saw. During the first half cycle, A is positive and B is negative. D1 has positive on its anode, D2 has negative on its cathode. Both are forward biased. Current flows around the circuit formed by these diodes, the load and the transformer winding, as shown in the second diagram. The current flowing up through the load produces a pulse of voltage across the load as shown in the right hand waveform. During the next half cycle, A is negative and B is positive. D4 has positive on its anode, D3 has negative on its cathode. Both are forward biased. Current flows around the circuit as shown in the bottom diagram, again flowing in the same direction through the load and producing another pulse of voltage.

As is case of the RSA we get variable arbitrary input of the following form

Variable input waveform encountered on common roads

while the output is

Constant DC output from the RSA

Thus the following flow chart summarizes the working of RSA and the full wave rectifier circuit.

4. Testing and results The RSA was mounted on a bike and preliminary tests were conducted. The bike was driven around the IIT Bombay campus and the concept was successfully verified. Enough power was generated to light up low wattage bulbs. But no quantitative measurements were recorded. Two separate testing platforms one having a regular sine wave profile and other with arbitrary bumps are being designed and in the process of construction. After completion of this, comprehensive tests will be carried out and efficiency of energy conversion will be determined. 5. Applications Once the true potential of the RSA is realized, it can replace the conventional shock absorbers from most of its present

day applications. With the improved efficiencies, there will be a situation in the near future when there is no need for batteries in modern day transport for lighting bulbs, running air conditioners and stereo systems.

7. Pictures of RSA

RSA mounted on the bike

RSA presented at the R&D exhibition at Techfest 2005, IIT Bombay