Conceptual Design of an Active Energy-Harvesting Shock Absorber with thehelp of smart materials science

The importance of shock absorbers is undeniable and a clear example of the importance of absorbing vehicledisturbances is in the ambulance cabin. Hence, intelligent structural science has been used to improve shockabsorbers. With the help of smart materials science, we try to design a high-performance shock absorber(the use of a fluid called Magneto-Rheological) as well as a power generator. We can use piezoelectrics asa sensor to generate voltage and as an actuator to change the diameter of the piston hole. We can install thinbeams with piezoelectrics in the path of the oil moving through the piston holes so that the oil vibrates(bends) the beam as it passes and finally, the voltage is generated by the piezoelectrics. A theoretical idea(conceptual design) has been proposed and designed in CATIA. Then this design is analyzed in COMSOLMultiphysics software.

Keywords:

Piezoelectrics , Magneto-Rheological , Energy-Harvesting , Shock absorbers