Impact of Traffic Conditions on the Active Suspension Energy Regeneration in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

This paper investigates the influence of traffic conditions on active suspension (AS) energy regeneration in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). For this purpose, a fuzzy-based AS system is integrated into a parallel HEV with a combined battery-ultracapacitor energy storage system (ESS) using a unified simulation medium. In addition, an electromechanical mechanism is proposed for the AS system energy regeneration, and the actuator dynamics and this mechanism's interactions with the ESS are modeled. Simulation results reveal that traffic conditions have a significant impact on the amount of regenerated energy produced by the AS system where more energy can be regenerated in extra-urban and highway traffic conditions than in congested and urban areas. Furthermore, the regeneration of AS system energy in fluent traffic conditions can considerably compensate for the increased exhaust emissions and fuel consumption caused by the AS load.