Enhancing Electric Vehicle Comfort with Magnetostrictive Energy Harvesting

The motion of electric vehicles on roads is commonly affected by vibrations arising from the unevenness of the ground and, partially, from the electric motor. This paper proposes a novel approach to harness these vibrations using an Energy Harvesting device based on magnetostrictive materials, with the primary objective of recovering otherwise wasted energy and enhancing passenger comfort. The key concept underlying this idea involves integrating the harvester between the car's body and suspensions. By doing so, the initial energy generated by the car body's vibrations is partially converted into electrical energy before reaching the suspensions, thereby leading to improved comfort. The same concept applies between the car body and the motor mounts. The performance of a prototype device has been experimentally tested under realistic dynamic mechanical stresses and the main results are presented herein.