SBIR Phase I: Integrated Hydraulic Suspension Energy Recovery System for Hybrid Trucks

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目建议为混合动力卡车开发一种液压再生减震器和充电系统。在典型的悬架中，相当多的能量以热量的形式损失掉了，尤其是在重型车辆中。现有的技术还不能以经济有效的方式有效地捕获这种能量。该项目将需要建模、设计、制造和测试一个液压-电力能量收集单元，以及为混合动力卡车电池充电的电力电子和能量存储子系统。该项目的目的是研究和证明再生式减振器作为重型卡车破坏液压能量收集机构的可行性。重点将放在将高强度小振幅振荡转化为可与混合充电系统接口的电力的具体挑战上。工作的重点是概念验证演示，并确定使用内部活塞/集成发电机再生减震器机制的混合动力汽车可能提高的效率。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是显著的，因为基础技术可以应用于各种不同行业的车辆、系统和工业应用。这项技术有可能每年为车队运营商节省数百万美元的燃料，同时减少美国各地的碳排放。混合动力汽车传统上只有一个能量再生源（制动）来给电池充电。有效地结合二次再生充电系统可能为许多新的再生技术打开大门，这些技术协同工作，为混合动力汽车电池充电，从而显著减少能源浪费。该技术的市场潜力是相当大的，包括卡车、军用车辆、公共汽车、客运车辆和铁路。当整合到传统的非混合动力平台时，该技术可以通过取代交流发电机负载来提高燃油经济性。除了车辆应用之外，该研究还可以在更广泛的范围内为紧凑、密封、高效的液压致动器和能量采集器带来技术支持。这将在航空、工业机械和机器人等其他领域得到应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a hydraulic regenerative shock absorber and charge system for hybrid trucks. An appreciable amount of energy is lost in a typical suspension as heat, especially in heavy vehicles. Existing technologies have been unable to efficiently capture this energy in a cost-effective manner. This project will entail the modeling, design, fabrication, and testing of a hydraulic-electric energy harvesting unit, along with the power electronics and energy storage subsystem to charge hybrid truck batteries. The objective of the project is to study and prove the feasibility of a regenerative shock absorber as a disruptive hydraulic energy harvesting mechanism on heavy trucks. Emphasis will be on the specific challenges of converting high force small amplitude oscillations into electricity that can interface with hybrid charge systems. Work will focus on a proof-of-concept demonstration and a determination of the increased efficiency possible on a hybrid vehicle using the internal piston/integrated-generator regenerative shock absorber mechanism.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is significant as the foundational technology can be applied to a wide range of vehicles, systems and industrial applications in diverse industries. The technology has the potential to save millions of dollars per year in fuel for fleet operators, and simultaneously reduce carbon emissions across the United States. Hybrid vehicles traditionally have a single energy regeneration source (braking) to charge batteries. Effectively incorporating a secondary regenerative charge system may open doors to many new regenerative technologies that work in unison to charge hybrid vehicle batteries, thus allowing for significant reductions in waste energy. The market potential for the technology is considerable, and includes trucks, military vehicles, transit buses, passenger vehicles, and rail. When incorporated into conventional non-hybrid platforms, the technology can improve fuel economy by displacing alternator load. In addition to vehicular applications, the research may, on a broader scale, lead to enabling technologies for compact, sealed, and efficient hydraulic actuators and energy harvesters. This will have applications in other fields such as aviation, industrial machinery, and robotics.