Research on Vibration Energy Recovery from a Horizontal Seat Suspension System

This paper presents an experimental study of vibration energy recovery from a horizontal seat suspension system in which a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor is used as both an active force actuator and a controllable regenerative braking element. The novelty of the study lies in the experimental validation of an active/regenerative switching strategy for a horizontal seat suspension and in the quantitative comparison of passive, fully active and regenerative operating modes under random vibration excitation and different inertial loads. The proposed system was evaluated using transmissibility functions, seat effective amplitude transmissibility (SEAT) factors, suspension travel, and electrical quantities generated in the braking branch. The results show that the fully active mode provides the highest vibration attenuation, whereas the regenerative mode reduces the SEAT factor compared with the passive suspension while simultaneously producing measurable electrical power in the braking resistor network. The maximum measured electrical power in the braking branch reached 7.692 W for the WN3 excitation signal and an 80 kg load. The obtained results confirm the practical potential of regenerative braking for potentially reducing the net energy demand of active seat suspension systems, while also highlighting the trade-off between vibration attenuation, suspension travel, and recoverable electrical power.