Investigation of a regenerative damping concept

Abstract

This thesis presents a justification for the study of regenerative damping, a general statement of the regenerative damping problem, and a detailed analysis of a specific proposed solution to the regenerative damping problem. Improvement in the efficiency of many physical systems is realized by the incorporation of regenerative devices, and all devices which dissipate power are candidates for investigation as regenerative systems. The viscous damper is a dissipative device which may be suitable for energy regeneration and is therefore investigated as such. Regenerative damping involves storing the power normally dissipated by a passive viscous damper. This task is accomplished by constructing a system which connects an energy storing device to the device being damped. The connecting system must efficiently transfer power from the device being damped to the storage device while simultaneously meeting the operating impedance of the storage device and producing a desired damping impedance. Many physical systems can accomplish this task, and the variable linear transmission is proposed for further investigation. Mathematical, graphical, and computer models are constructed to study the variable linear transmission. These models directly indicate the control strategies necessary to operate the device as a regenerative damper. Studies of kinematic performance and efficiency of the proposed damper indicate that a strong connection exists between the goodness of the performance of the proposed device as a damper and its efficiency. Both of these issues are directly related to the strategy used in the active control of the device.Results indicate that in its ideal state, the proposed damper exactly solves the problem of regenerative damping. For the non-ideal operation of the device, which includes the effects of system actuation dynamics, the performance looks promising but will require more investigation into optimal control strategies. Overall, the prospects for realizing regenerative damping are shown to be positive, and further investigation of this subject is encouraged.