Design of a High-Performance 16-Slot 8-Pole Electromagnetic Shock Absorber Using a Novel Permanent Magnet Structure

The conventional development of tubular generators for applications intended to harvest energy using vehicle suspension systems is faced with the critical challenge of increasing the power harvested for a given space. Conventional optimal designs of machine dimensions have improved both output power and output power density, but the actual values are still relatively small. Recently, we proposed a novel tubular generator structure that combines a mechanical shock absorber and an electrical generator. An innovative permanent magnet structure using both Halbach array and iron spacers (a hybrid-type) was applied. The high relative permeability of the iron material significantly improved the performance of the proposed generator in comparison with conventional models. A prototype was fabricated and experimentally validated via simulation.