Posted on 08/11/2016 9:07:18 AM PDT by nascarnation
Audi just announced a new suspension system that harvests wasted energy and turns it into electricity, capable of adding juice to a vehicle’s 48-volt electrical subsystem.
The automaker calls the system “eROT” after the electromechanical rotary dampers that capture kinetic energy and store it in a battery. Currently in the prototype phase, the system does away with conventional shock absorbers, replacing them with lever arms connected to a small gearbox and alternator.
“Every pothole, every bump, every curve induces kinetic energy in the car,” said Stefan Knirsch, Audi’s technical development boss, in a release. “Today’s dampers absorb this energy, which is lost in the form of heat. With the new electromechanical damper system in the 48-volt electrical system, we put this energy to use. It also presents us and our customers with entirely new possibilities for adjusting the suspension.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thetruthaboutcars.com ...
(just kidding)
Is this related to F1 kers?
I’m in OHIO, with our pot holes, I’ll never have to buy gas again!!
Folks in Michigan will be getting 90mpg!LOL! Downtown Seattle too.
“Is this related to F1 kers?”
I would think more likely for VW Group, to develop towards Le Mans, since they do not race in F1 now or in the recent past.
For Le Mans, they have been using advanced technology to win, including Diesel, Hybrids, etc.
For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, fuel economy matters, since they can eliminate refueling pit stops, as an example. They did that a few years back with diesel.
Hope it does not make it to F1, they’ve screwed around with the sound enough. Back in the late 70s I got to stand about 4 paces behind a F1 Ferrari in the paddock area at Watkins Glen. One of the mechanics was revving it up to tune it. They were running 3.0 liter 12 cylinder engines back then (flat 12s). Lost a little hearing I’m sure, but it was worth it, the sound was glorious.
Kers is similar to the regenerative braking that the typical hybrid car has.
This is using suspension motion as the energy source.
sooo what? coils around the struts-shocks.
Sorry I didn’t notice pic first time through article I am mowing and it is a thousand degrees, you know global warming and all in august.
Converting braking into electrical energy is a no brainer as we all need to brake, and quite often if we live in the city.
But converting bumps and corners into electricity? Yes, but I just do not think of it as cost effective.
Cornering will likely produce zero, as the roll of modern vehicles is practically nothing, unless we are cornering fast enough to go into a tail skid.
Bumps? That depends where we drive. Most towns and rural roads are not rough enough, unless all that stimulus money obama ear marked for infrastructure gets lost in the wrong pockets, then they will get rougher with time.
I think the idea is some greenie’s silly fantasy.
You must live in the south. And somewhere flat.
eROT, ick.
British cars had lever-action shocks years ago; surely, some engineer looked at them with regeneration in mind.
Yes there’s definitely energy to be reclaimed.
I think the challenge is how cost effective.
No, we live just a few miles south of Manitoba and our road is gravel for the first 3 miles. In the winter our roads heave due to frost.
Next time you are standing on a roadside, watch the cars go by. In order to get energy off of bumps, the wheels need to go up and down to get the suspension to go up and down which creates the motion to generate electricity.
As you are watching the cars wheels, they practically do not go up and down at all.
It’s just a plain silly leftist idea from the same school global warming is taught. It’s less efficient than wind turbines.
Well, we have plenty of hills and ruts and potholes here in western PA. I think the idea has some merit.
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