Jeremy Bass•3 Sept 2013
NEWS
ZF developing adaptive shocks to recover energy
US company Levant Power joins forces with German transmission giant to harvest kinetic energy from suspension systemsTransmission specialist ZF has put together a deal with US new-tech start-up Levant Power Corp to develop what the two say is the world’s first suspension system capable of recovering energy in the same way as regen braking systems do.
Branded GenShock, the system augments ZF’s existing adaptive damping technology (aka Continuous Damping Control, or CDC) with a specially developed valve developed in cahoots with Levant. With its own self-contained management system comprising a CPU, an electric motor and an electro-hydraulic gear pump, the system works under shock like a normal active damper, varying the damping rate by regulating the intake of fluid into the shock absorber.
The regen function harnesses the outward motion of the piston in the damper to push fluid through the pump, activating it, which in turn activates the motor. This effectively turns it into an alternator, converting kinetic into electrical energy that it then feeds back, continually supplying the battery with small top-ups.
The vehicle thus derives direct benefits from rugged road surfaces – the more vigorously it jiggles the suspension, the more kinetic energy there is to recover from the dampers. And the regen system absorbs much of that bumpy stuff before it reaches the cabin, making for something of a win-win.
As the two explain in their joint release, "... the damping characteristic curve not only adapts optimally and automatically to each driving situation, but bodywork pitch motions are also virtually eliminated during abrupt braking manoeuvres and rolling motions."
It offers the extra benefit of being able to actively raise individual wheels, just like Citroens of yore. No jack required in the event of a flat – a car could lift its wheel off the ground for a tyre change in much the same way a horse holds its hoof up for a farrier to change a shoe.
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Written byJeremy Bass
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