An energy harvesting shock absorber for powering on-board electrical equipment in freight trains

To realize smart detection and safe operation of freight trains, a continuous and stable energy source is required for electrical equipment on the train. It is a feasible scheme to harvest the vibration energy of train suspension to supply power for on-board electrical equipment. This paper presents an energy-harvesting shock absorber (EHSA) based on the slider-crank mechanism and ratchet-pawl mechanism, which provide a vibration reduction effect and renewable electricity. To determine the damping performance and the power generation performance of EHSA, a dynamic model is established based on MATLAB. According to the tests on the mechanical testing and sensing (MTS) bench, the maximum power generation mechanical efficiency of the EHSA is 67.75%, and the maximum output power of the EHSA is 1.65W. In addition, the charging tests on the MTS bench show that the proposed device is applicable to power on-board electrical equipment on freight trains.