Mechanical Regenerative Braking System for Higer Bus

Abstract

Many efforts have been made in finding alternative energy sources rather than based on petroleum fuels due to its intermittency and increase in price. The other approach is to use the available energy effectively by minimizing energy wastage and recycling energy by using regenerating devices. During braking the vehicle, the kinetic energy of the vehicle converted into heat energy and wasted to the environment. This braking energy can be stored in regenerating devices such as the flywheel, high voltage battery, and flat spiral spring before it converted into heat. The restored energy can be reused to restart the vehicle or for acceleration. This work aimed to design and analyze MRBS for Higer bus using a flat spiral spring as an energy storage device. This MRBS is designed for Ankai Higer bus operated in Addis Ababa that delivers about 55 passengers per trip beyond the manufacturer limit 40 passengers. According to the result, the energy stored in the flat spiral spring is inversely proportional to both spring length and the vehicle speed. The spring efficiency for the spring length of 2000 mm or 2 m moving at 40 km/h is greater than 45%. The CAD model of the planetary gear assembly was developed using CATIA VR5 and SolidWorks software and the model imported into ANSYS 16.0 for structural analysis in ANSYS workbench. From the analysis, the result for stress, strain, and deformation distribution had drawn. The AAK compact alternator is also connected to one end of the ring gear to get an output of around 1.7 kW (1680 W). The electric energy regenerated can be used to recharge the battery or to fulfill the electric need of the vehicle. It is recommended to the automotive industries, automotive manufacturers, and the universities to motivate and fund the researchers to investigate to develop environmentally friendly and technologically advanced regenerative brake system.