The Variable Linear Transmission for Regenerative Damping in Vehicle Suspension Control

This paper introduces the concept of regenerative damping in vibration control, the storage of energy normally dissipated by a passive viscous damper. A device, the Variable Linear Transmission, is proposed to accomplish this task. Analysis of the proposed device as a damper in a typical passenger vehicle is conducted for the cases in which the device´s active component operates ideally and with actuation dynamics included. Results indicate that regenerative vibration control is feasible and can provide damping nearly identical to that of a passive viscous damper while storing the damped energy.