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Project Title:

Electromagnetic Shock Absorber 

Project Team:

• Dr. Rob Prins (Department of Engineering)
• Ben Artale (ISAT senior project student)
• Jason Atkins (ISAT senior project student)
• Chris Trimble (ISAT senior project student)

Project Description:    

This project is based on harvesting otherwise wasted energy from the movement of the suspension in an automobile or other vehicle.  The student team disassembled an AFCO racing shock absorber and attached a super magnet to the shock piston. The shock housing was then wrapped in wire to create a linear generator.  As the piston and attached super magnet move back and forth past the wire coils a current is induced in the wire.   A testing apparatus and a measurement system were designed and built in order to take voltage measurements from the device while simulating the actuation of a shock absorber on a vehicle traveling down the road. The team’s goal is to investigate what is possible in harvesting this wasted energy source and make it available to the electrical systems of the vehicle.  This kind of technology has the capability of prolonging the charge on the batteries of an electric vehicle so that the frequency of charges is reduced. 

Jason Atkins demonstrates test stand operation while Ben Artale (left), and Chris Trimble (right) look on.

More information on this project can be found on our project blog:

Funding Source or Sponsor (if applicable):

This project is housed in the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Lab.