Modeling and Optimization of Regenerative MacPherson Strut

Throughout the vehicles industry and electrification, vehicle ride comfort, road holding, and fuel/charge economy have always been important considerations for the design and development of shock absorbers. Vehicle suspension is one of the oscillating power dissipation sources in which the undesired mechanical energy is dissipated into heat waste. Therefore, in this study a regenerative MacPherson strut is modeled and validated to investigate the vehicle vertical dynamics performance as well as the harvestable power that can be used to charge batteries or power vehicle electrical loads. The optimal design parameters of the regenerative MacPherson strut (RE.M.S) is obtained by using multi-object genetic algorithm (MOGA) optimization for a better trade-off between regenerated power, ride comfort, and road holding. The results showed that RE.M.S can function as a semi-active shock absorber as change of duty cycle of charging circuit. Furthermore, the optimal selection of the design parameters such as the inclination angle of the MacPherson strut and the external load have a very significant effect to stabilize the level of the harvested regenerated power, ride comfort, and road holding at different driving conditions.