Hybrid innovations for hydraulic braking

Exploring new technologies for recovering kinetic energy from braking.

Hybrid technologies are playing a leading role at many of this year's automotive shows, offering the promise of lower fuel consumption as a stark counterpoint to today's ever-increasing fuel costs. While most media coverage is focused on automotive applications, many of the same concepts have also been applied to a wide range of commercial and off-road vehicle applications.

One promising hybrid technology that has shown a great deal of potential is the capture and use of the kinetic energy that is normally lost as heat during vehicle braking. The amount of energy lost with each braking action depends on a number of factors, including the vehicle's total mass, its velocity prior to deceleration, velocity at the end of the braking operation, and rolling resistance. Braking frequency may also be a factor, as frequent, intensive braking could generate a larger cumulative amount of heat. Based on these factors, the high mass and continual duty cycles of many medium- and heavy-duty commercial and off-highway vehicles present what could be an excellent application for regenerative braking technology.