Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
BRAKE ENERGY RECOVERY UNIT
Technology Category/Market
Electrical Engineering: Control unit to initiate Brake energy recovery of an automobile.
Applications: Brake energy recovery unit in a two/three/four-wheeler vehicle(s);
Market: Automotive energy recovery system market was valued at $22.4 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $45.5 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2021 to 2030.
Targeted Industries
Watermarking IP design,
Electronic circuits
Image Gallery
Problem Statement
- The kinetic energy in automobiles is wasted significantly in the form of Heat during the conventional braking process in a vehicle.
- If the vehicle battery is considered for storing the energy recovered during deceleration, the battery used herein needs to have a sufficiently lower state of charge to accept the recovered brake energy.
- Further, the vehicle battery requires the capability to absorb the brake energy in a short time and operate reliably with frequent charge-discharge cycles.
- Therefore, there is a need for a brake energy recovery unit for an engine to detect a brake event and initiate a brake energy recovery procedure.
Technology
- The Brake energy recovery unit comprises an alternator and a control unit to detect a Braking event and initiate a Brake energy recovery procedure.
- The alternator, fixed in an engine, is connected to either a load or a battery through the first switch.
- Moreover, the alternator is connected to super-capacitor through a second switch; and said super-capacitor is connected to the load or the battery through a unidirectional DC-DC converter, wherein the control unit is configured to control said electronic device(s).
- The Brake energy recovery unit determines if the energy is recovered by analysis of a vehicle speed and recovers the kinetic energy to form electric energy to store in the super capacitor.
- The Brake energy recovery unit further includes a plurality of sensors fixed at various positions in the vehicle parts to identify the various conditions for transferring energy from the alternator to super-capacitor (FIG 1).
Key Features/Value Proposition
- The use of recovered brake energy can be offered significant fuel savings and said unit provides the facility of reducing the wear and tear of the brakes.
- Dynamic properties and economic efficiency of the automobile are improved with service life & brake security of a vehicle storage battery is prolonged.
- The brake energy recovery unit allows the realization of regenerative braking for automobiles with minimum modification in electric parts of vehicles with a simple control strategy leading to a low-cost solution.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact for Licensing
Research Lab
Srirama Srinivas
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Intellectual Property
IITM IDF No. 1168
IN Patent No.: 418648 (Granted)
TRL (Technology Readiness Level)
TRL- 3
Proof of Concept Ready Stage