SEMINAR II

REGENERATIVE BRAKING
Supervisor: Dr. Mirghani
Group Member: Zafry Zainal
Nik Aryadi Abdul
Nor Zaini Hashim

INTRODUCTION
For three decades now, the second commandment of
every automotive engineer right behind reduce cost
has been reduce fuel consumption. The drive to
use less fossil fuel has dictated the design of engines,
transmissions and control systems for decades. Now,
it is pushing the development of completely different
technologies for generating power.
In spite of all these truly marvelous improvements, the
energy efficiency of the most modern production car is
still less than 20 percent. Most of the energy used to
move the vehicle at any speed over any distance is
literally thrown away as heat. About half of that wasted
energy goes through the brakes. Today, almost every
manufacturer is developing ways to recover a
significant portion of that wasted energy with
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regenerative braking

WHAT IS REGENERATIVE BRAKING?

A regenerative brake is an apparatus, a device or
system which allows a vehicle to recapture part of the
kinetic energy that would otherwise be 'lost' to heat
when braking and make use of that power either by
storing it for future use or feeding it back into a power
system for other vehicles to use.
Regenerative braking is used on hybrid gas/electric
automobiles to recoup some of the energy lost during
stopping. This energy is saved in a storage battery
and used later to power the motor whenever the car is
in electric mode.
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HOW IT WORKS
Regenerative braking does more than simply stop the car.
Electric motors and electric generators (such as a car's
alternator) are essentially two sides of the same technology.
Both use magnetic fields and coiled wires, but in different
configurations. Regenerative braking systems take advantage
of this duality. Whenever the electric motor of a hybrid car
begins to reverse direction, it becomes an electric generator or
dynamo. This generated electricity is fed into a chemical
storage battery and used later to power the car at city speeds.

 Regenerative braking takes energy normally wasted during

braking and turns it into usable energy. It is not, however, a
perpetual motion machine. Energy is still lost through friction
with the road surface and other drains on the system. The
energy collected during braking does not restore all the energy
lost during driving. It does improve energy efficiency and assist
the main alternator.
Regenerative braking is a benefit of hybrid electric vehicles,
whereby some of the translational energy of the vehicle is
captured and returned to an energy storage device when the
brake pedal is applied. This is different from conventional
braking, in which a car is slowed through friction and the energy
of the car is lost through waste heat.
The energy recaptured by regenerative braking might be stored
in one of three devices: an electrochemical battery, a flywheel,
or in a regenerative fuel cell.
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REGENERATIVE BRAKING AND BATTERIES

The electric motor of a car becomes a generator when the
brake pedal is applied. The kinetic energy of the car is used to
generate electricity that is then used to recharge the batteries.
With this system, traditional friction brakes must also be used to
ensure that the car slows down as much as necessary. Thus,
not all of the kinetic energy of the car can be harnessed for the
batteries because some of it is "lost" to waste heat. Some
energy is also lost to resistance as the energy travels from the
wheel and axle, through the drivetrain and electric motor, and
into the battery.

REGENERATIVE BRAKING AND FLYWHEELS

the translational energy of the vehicle is transferred into

rotational energy in the flywheel, which stores the energy until it
is needed to accelerate the vehicle.
The benefit of using flywheel technology is that more of the
forward inertial energy of the car can be captured than in
batteries, because the flywheel can be engaged even during
relatively short intervals of braking and acceleration.
In the case of batteries, they are not able to accept charge at
these rapid intervals, and thus more energy is lost to friction.
Another advantage of flywheel technology is that the additional
power supplied by the flywheel during acceleration substantially
supplements the power output of the small engine that hybrid
vehicles are equipped with.
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REGENERATIVE BRAKING AND FUEL CELLS

The third system uses what is known as a unitized regenerative fuel cell,
which is designed to both convert hydrogen and oxygen into energy and
water, or be reversed to take the energy from the wheels, combine it with
water, and produce hydrogen and oxygen.
The system as a single unit is substantially lighter than a separate
electrolyzer and generator, which makes this system (known as a URFC)
especially beneficial when weight is a factor.
When the URFC is paired up with lightweight hydrogen storage, it's energy
density of about 450 watt-hours per kilogram is ten times that of lead-acid
batteries and twice as much as any predictions for the energy density of
forthcoming chemical batteries.
This means that not only will this technology make lighter hybrids available,
it will also give hybrids a driving range that is comparable to that of vehicles
today that are equipped with conventional engines.
Further benefits of the URFC is that it will be more cost effective than other
vehicles because it will not need to be replaced, and it will provide the
additional power needed by an electric engine when accelerating onto a
highway.
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REGENERATIVE BRAKING AND LAUNCHASSIST

Some of the recovered energy is stored in a package of
ultracapacitors instead of the battery pack.
The ultracapacitor is charged with regenerative braking.
Voltages are as high in either direction as 300 Vdc and can flow
at 100 amps continuously or 200 amps for two minutes. It can
be charged and discharged quite rapidly even in urban drive
cycles, and it can withstand thousands of charge/discharge
cycles with no loss of performance.
In addition to extending the charge state and overall life of the
batteries, it also allows regenerative braking even when the
batteries are fully charged. At this early point in its
development, the ultracapacitor pack is large, heavy and
requires its own cooling system. However the launch-assist
idea has a lot of potential, and its not limited to electric
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vehicles.

HYDRAULIC LAUNCH ASSIST (HLA)

It recovers energy normally lost during deceleration and
converts it to hydraulic pressure in an accumulator, where it
is available as a source of energy during the vehicle's next
acceleration.
A variable-displacement hydraulic pump/motor is mounted
on the transfer case and clutched to the output shaft that
powers the front driveshaft.
A valve block mounted on the pump contains solenoid
valves to control the flow of hydraulic fluid. A 14-gallon,
high-pressure accumulator is mounted behind the rear
axle, with an almost identical low-pressure accumulator
right behind it to store hydraulic fluid.

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 When the driver presses the brake pedal, a pedal

movement sensor signals the control unit, which then
operates solenoid valves to send hydraulic fluid from the
low-pressure reservoir to the pump. The pumping action
slows the vehicle, similar to engine compression braking,
and the fluid is pumped into the high-pressure reservoir.
Releasing the brake and pressing hard on the accelerator
signals the control unit to send that high-pressure fluid
back to the pump, which then acts as a hydraulic motor
and adds torque to the driveline. The system can be used
to launch the vehicle from a stop or to add torque for
accelerating from any speed.
The real advantage of hydraulics is in its power density.
Hydraulics is capable of transferring energy very quickly
compared to hybrid electric system.
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REGENERATIVE BRAKING ADVANTAGES

Provide greater fuel economy
Greater improvement in emission reduction
Energy savvy (energy conversion will be carefully controlled in
the interest of maximum efficiency)
Provide ample drive power and power for sudden acceleration.
Enhance the efficiency of the engine and the overall economy of
the car.
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REGENERATIVE BRAKING DISADVANTAGES

The main disadvantage of regenerative brakes when compared
with dynamic brakes is the need to closely match the electricity
generated with the supply. With DC supplies this requires the
voltage to be closely controlled and it is only with the
development of power electronics that it has been possible with
AC supplies where the supply frequency must also be matched
(this mainly applies to locomotives where an AC supply is
rectified for DC motors).

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