Automotive Engineering Commons^™

A Mechanical Regenerative Brake And Launch Assist Using An Open Differential And Elastic Energy Storage, David H. Myszka, Andrew P. Murray, Kevin Giaier, Vijay Krishna Jayaprakash, Christoph Gillum

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Regenerative brake and launch assist (RBLA) systems are used to capture kinetic energy while a vehicle decelerates and subsequently use that stored energy to assist propulsion. Commercially available hybrid vehicles use generators, batteries and motors to electrically implement RBLA systems. Substantial increases in vehicle efficiency have been widely cited.

This paper presents the development of a mechanical RBLA that stores energy in an elastic medium. An open differential is coupled with a variable transmission to store and release energy to an axle that principally rotates in a single direction. The concept applies regenerative braking technology to conventional automobiles equipped with …