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SAE TECHNICAL 2005-01-3969

PAPER SERIES E

Design of a Pneumatic Regenerative Braking System

João Francisco Fleck Heck Britto

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Eduardo Perondi
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

José Antônio Esmerio Mazzaferro

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Filiada à

XIV Congresso e Exposição Internacionais

da Tecnologia da Mobilidade
São Paulo, Brasil
22 a 24 de novembro de 2005

AV. PAULISTA, 2073 - HORSA II - CJ. 1003 - CEP 01311-940 - SÃO PAULO – SP
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2005-01-3969

Design of a Pneumatic Regenerative Braking System

João Francisco Fleck Heck Britto
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre - Brasil.

Eduardo André Perondi

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre – Brasil

José Antônio Esmerio Mazzaferro

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre – Brasil

Copyright © 2005 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc

ABSTRACT are many researches and studies that seem to be still

insufficient for its extensive application. Most of the
The energetic efficiency of automotive vehicles can be regenerative brakes studied are electrical. These systems
increased through the use of regenerative brake systems. are based on the use of electrical generators and chemical
Usually, traditional regenerative braking systems consist of batteries. These systems are usually applied to hybrid
electrical generators linked to the traditional vehicle brake. vehicles (Otto motors and electric motor) and electric
These systems are applied to store electrical energy in trains.
chemical batteries. In this paper we introduce a new In this work we introduce another category of
regenerative concept, based on pneumatic (air pressure) regenerative system, based on pneumatics. The proposed
energy storage. In the proposed system, the pneumatic system consists of a pneumatic compressor connected to the
energy is stored in small vessels and can be further applied vehicle transmission system. When the braking action takes
to supply pneumatic driven actuators in the vehicle place, the compressor is started and the compressed air is
operation system (pneumatic brake assistance, automatic stored in a pressure vessel for subsequent use in other
doors system, etc). A mathematical model of the pneumatic applications.
regenerative brake applied to a theoretical urban bus In section 2 there is a small explanation about
system is presented. Results of simulations using the model regenerative brakes technology. In section 3 it is presented
with the pneumatic regenerative brake were compared with the problem and the objectives of the study. The
results of simulations using a model without the mathematical model is accomplished in the section 4 while
regenerative brake, allowing the energy efficiency the results and analyses are presented in the section 5.
evaluation of the proposed regenerative system. Finally, in the section 6 it is presented the conclusions of
the present work.
1. INTRODUCTION
2. REGENERATIVE BRAKE SYSTEMS
Fossil fuels reserves are limited, and high investments
are dispended by companies, institutes and universities in Brake systems of most standard automotive vehicles
researches seeking for its substitution and creation of more convert kinetic energy in heat that is dissipated to the
efficient systems. The technology of regenerative brakes is atmosphere. The brake activation process can be divided in
in agreement with this research area. Regenerative brakes two thermodynamical processes. The former is the friction
are those who save the dynamic energy, transforming it in phenomena. In this process, the dynamic energy is
potential energy that is accumulated for subsequent converted to calorific energy. The second process consists
application. The traditional brakes are friction based and of the heat transference from the brakes to the surrounding
dissipate the dynamic energy, causing important losses in ambient.
the energy efficiency of the global system. It is possible to easily describe the qualitative benefits
Nowadays, there are few known commercial due to the use of regenerative brakes in vehicles. On the
applications of regenerative brake systems. However, there other hand, it is not so easy to accomplish quantitative data
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that could be used to demonstrate it. An analysis in this The approach adopted in this work is alternative
sense should involve requirements of vehicle potency as a because we propose the use of a flow-mechanic system.
function of the transport cycle to determine the energy ratio This study is based on the analogy with the electric
that can be absorbed by the brakes. regenerative systems, aiming costs decreasing and faster
Wicks and Donnelly (2002) determine the work cycle and easier application.
for an urban bus and perform a regenerative brakes
application potentiality analysis. They show that the portion 3. REGENERATIVE BRAKE DESIGN
of 91% of total energy is wasted by the brakes, being the
remaining energy dissipated by the air and tire-soil This work reports the design of a pneumatic
frictions. It is also verified that 59% of the work produced regenerative brake system to be applied in a commercial
by the motor is consumed by the brakes, being, in an ideal vehicle. The proposed pneumatic system must be installed
situation, the energy saving potential. These results indicate in parallel to the traditional brake, seeking global energy
a clear justification for the research in this area. efficiency improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to
Today, the most advanced studies are in the application accomplish the determination of a system with potential
of electric regenerative systems. This technology is mainly application viability and achieve the energetic efficiency
based in the use of the speed difference between a rotaries study with the regenerative system integration. The
axis and a fixed magnetic field that induces the efficiency study is done through simulations using a vehicle
manifestation of electric current. Previously, in the past dynamics model integrated with a regenerative system
systems, the current induced during the activation of the model. A private transport vehicle (urban zone bus) which
brake in electric motors was dissipated by Joule effect in works with compressed air to execute some actions as
benches of resistors, wasting the energy. Due to the automatic door driving and in the passive brake potency
technological progress of electronics and control system (air brake) was used.
techniques, it is possible at present to absorb and store this The solution of the equations set seeking the system
electrical energy. dynamic behavior determination is accomplished with the
In Flinders, Mathew and Oghanna (1995) it is presented use of the numeric integration software Matlab® (2002).
the implantation in trains of regenerative systems based on Through the Simulink module, the blocks diagrams are
modern tiristors application witch allows high potency built and the set of associated differential equations is
rectification. The regenerative system, used in north of solved. The simulation results allow the observation the
New Zealand railroad, provided 13% of reduction in energy influence of the regenerative system in the dynamic
waste. In the same paper, it is also shown the measurement behavior and the energetic efficiency.
of energy losses during the application of dynamic brakes The parameters of the dissipative brake were defined so
in the source line of Central Queensland. In this railroad, that the system behavior performs accordingly to the
the coal is transported by a distance of 400km. The total Brazilian National Standards (ABNT, 2004). The
energy wasted during the activation of the brake is of regenerative brake system was incorporated in a way that
8,7MWh. Taking into account the whole process, the modified system maintains the same operational and
approximately 100GWh are wasted. functional characteristics of the previous system. The
Besides its application in trains, regenerative systems simulations were accomplished using a private transport
are used in hybrid vehicles (HEV, hybrid electric vehicles), cycle model. The results were analyzed considering the
in which there is an auxiliary electric motor coupled to the energy savings in the braking process and in the global
combustion motor. This vehicle conception presents context, aiming at the evaluation of the economical
advantages, as smaller dimensions and weights and the potential of the regenerative system application.
appropriate rotation control of the combustion motor, Automotive vehicles can be used in several
causing the economy of fuel and emissions reduction as environmental conditions, so their requirements can vary
said by He and Hodgson (2002). In Cikanek and Bailey significantly. The energy consumed in a vehicle is mainly
(2002), a Regenerative Braking System (RBS) is proposed due to the resistance of the air, to the friction of the tires
to be assembled to a Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle with the soil and the internal dumping of the movable parts,
(PHEV). Simulation results from a dynamic model of the besides the amount consumed by the brakes. Therefore, it is
PHEV exhibiting the regenerative braking performance not appropriate the use of a regenerative system for
improvement are presented. vehicles that travel broad distances because the braking
Panagiotidis, Delagrammatikas and Assanis (2000) action is not frequent in this operational situation. Smaller
report fuel savings of 15% in some HEV vehicles vehicles have space restriction, hindering the application of
configurations. These are values much more conservatives the proposed pneumatic regenerative system. So, the most
than the ideal 59% presented previously, but are still very appropriate vehicles for the system implantation are buses
significant concerning energy efficiency performance. The and urban trucks that have intense accelerations cycles and,
advanced technology involving hybrid vehicles limits its consequently, considerable efficiency losses caused by the
application to few commercial models. frequent activation of brakes. This is the main situation
usually addressed in the electric regenerative brakes
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bibliography. Therefore, it was convenient the choice of an

urban bus working in the ocean level atmosphere.
The proposed regenerative brake system is formed by a
compressor, a tank and a clutch that links the transmission
axis and the compressor. It was chosen an alternative
double action piston-type compressor. In this initial
proposal only the back wheels of the vehicle are coupled to
the regenerative brake system. The scheme of the proposed
system installed in the vehicle is presented in the Fig. 1.
After the brake pedal is pressed in the braking action
process, besides the dissipative brakes activation, the
vehicle transmission system separates the motor of the Figure 2 – Free body diagram of the vehicle.
transmission train. Then, through a clutch, the compressor
is linked to the transmission axis. So, the compressor starts From the free body vehicle diagram we can determine
the process of sending air to the vessel, generating an the equilibrium equations. The horizontal forces can be
opposite torque to the motor axis. At this time, the expressed through Eq. (1)
dissipative brake is also working, and the two systems act
together, slowing down the vehicle. The traditional electric d 2x dx (1)
M  Car  Fdx  Ftx 0
regenerative systems are similar. In the electric systems, dt 2 dt
during the braking action process, the electric generator is
driven by the vehicle motor transmission system and
Where M is the mass of the vehicle, Car is the damper
applies a negative torque, causing the slow down of the
coefficient of the air, Fdx and Fdy are the reactive forces of
vehicle. The generated electric charge is stored in batteries
friction between the tire and the soil. In the vertical
for subsequent application.
direction, it can be expressed as
4. THE MODEL
Fdy  Fty  Mg 0 (2)
In this section the mathematical model of the system is
presented. Some considerations are specified for Where g is acceleration of the gravity, Fdy is the front
simplification purposes. The first condition is that the reaction force in the vertical direction and Fty is the back
joining between the compressor and the transmission is reaction force in the vertical direction. The moment caused
already done and the motor is already separate from the rest by the contact forces with the soil by the front wheel are
of the system. Then, the initial instant is considered with described by
null acceleration and constant vehicle speed.
d 2x dx (3)
(M  Car ) d 3  Mgd1  Fty ( d1  d 2 ) 0
motor dt 2 dt
gearbox
Where d1 is the distance of the center of gravity to the
clutch front axis and d2 is the distance of the center of gravity to
compressor
tank the back axis. The moment in the back wheel can be
described by

d 2T dT (4)
 Jt 2
 T f  Cang  Ftx .rt 0
dt dt

Where Tf is the torque due to the application of the

brake, Jt is the moment of inertia with respect to the back
Figure 1. Scheme of the regenerative brake fixed in the axis, Cang is the internal friction dumping coefficient and rt
structure of the bus. the radius of the back tire.
The horizontal forces Ftx and Fdx are proportional to
The objective is to study the performance variation the contact friction coefficient and to the normal forces Fty
due to regenerative brake with respect to the traditional and Fdy, respectively. The force Ftx is expressed by
passive brake system. The system free body diagram is
presented in the Fig. 2. Ftx PFty (5)
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Equations (1) to (4) allows the composition of the calculated using the tangent speed of the vehicle and
block diagram elaborated for Simulink/Matlab equivalent tangent speeds of the front and back wheels and
implementation. Figure 3 presents the system main block the horizontal force of the vehicle. The vertical reactions
diagram. are calculated in each wheel using the model of suspension
of Maclay (1997), where the stiffness and dumping
coefficients of the suspension and the gravity center
position are considered. The reactions are multiplied by the
friction coefficients and the result is used to calculate the
front and rear friction forces. The zero value is imposed to
the sliding movement when the speed arrives to null value
to avoid singularity in Eq. (6).
The transmission system is elaborated based on the
generalization of the Eq. (4). In this system, the torque due
to the action of the brakes, Tf, is calculated in a subsystem
block (the “brake subsystem block”). In the transmission
block the back and front horizontal forces are used to
calculate the equivalent angular speeds in each wheel
which depend on the action of the dissipative brakes, on the
Figure 3 – Main block diagram of the model. loss for the internal friction in the two wheels and on the
action of the regenerative brake in the back wheels.
The friction coefficient µ is a function of many The brake subsystem block diagram is a subsystem of
parameters like environment conditions, vertical loads, the transmission system. In this subsystem, the hydraulic
surface types, translation speeds and internal pressures of pressure of the brake action is multiplied by the actuator
the tires. For analysis simplification purposes, in this study, cylinder piston area, resulting in the equivalent force. This
only the initial speed is tested with different values. The force, through the equation for drum brake from Gillespie
other parameters are considered constants. (1992), results in the equivalent torque. The drum brake
action is then added to the regenerative torque which
The braking action is simulated with dry asphalt. The calculus is based on the analysis of the free body diagram
determination of the coefficient is done through the presented in Fig. 5.
correlation graph between relative sliding and friction
coefficient, supplied by Gillespie (1992) and reproduced in
Fig. 4.

1
0,9
0,8
Coeficiente de Atrito
friction coeficient

0,7
0,6
0,5
Figure 5 – Free body diagram of the air compression
0,4
0,3
system.
0,2
0,1 The relationship between the angular speed wa of the
0 axis and the translational speed of the piston vp given by
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mabie (1980) is presented in Eq. (7):
sliding ratio
Deslizamento (%) (%)
Relativo

R p Lp sen2T
vp  R p wa ( senT  ) (7)
Figure 4 – Relative sliding versus Friction coefficient 2

The sliding is defined by Gillespie (1992) as where Rp is the radius of the "crank", Lp is the length of the
"connecting rod" and ș is the angle formed between the
v  wr radius Rp and the normal vector of the traverse area of the
desl (6)
v piston. The relationship between the mass flow m dm / dt
and the translational speed is presented in Eq. (8):
where v is the tangent velocity, w is the angular velocity of
the wheel and r is the radius of the wheel. In the sliding m UA p v p (8)
subsystem the horizontal front and back forces are
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Where ȡ is the atmospheric air density and Ap is the Table 1 – List of Parameters
traverse area of the piston.
The variation of the pressure in the tank (Eq. (9))
caused by the injection of this mass flow, being considered M = 12000 [kg] n = 0,150 [m] Kf = 480000 [Nm]
an adiabatic isentropic process with small temperature
variation, is given by Perondi and Guenther (2003).
Car = 40 [Ns/m] m = 0,150 [m] Kt = 720000 [Nm]

dp RrT (9)
m
dt Vt J1 = 25 [kgm²] rr = 0,304 [m] Cvf =40000 [Ns/m]

In Eq. (9), R is the constant of the air, r is the

relationship among specific heats, T is the absolute J2 = 105 [kgm²] Vt = 0,1 [m³] Cvt =45000 [Ns/m]
temperature and Vt is the volume of the tank. This pressure
variation, integrated along the time, represents the reactive
pressure against to the movement of the piston. This effect Cang = 20 [Nms] Ap = 0,12 [m²] R = 287 [J/kgK]
results in the braking action. The reactive equivalent torque
is presented in Eq. (10):
rf = 0,49 [m] v0 = 16,66 [m/s] T = 298,15 [K]
Tregen p tan A p R p senT (10)

This torque is then added along the time to the torque rt = 0,49 [m] d1 = 2,95 [m] R = 1,4
given by the traditional dissipative brakes. The pressure
generated by the regenerative system is accumulated in the
vessel. Af = 0,005 [m²] d2 = 2,5 [m] Rp = 0,07 [m]
The elastic potential energy accumulated in the tank
through the pressure increasing the saved is expressed by
Eq. (11):
mif = 0,41 d3 = 1,5 [m] Lp = 0,20 [m]

E p.Vt (11)
e = 0,300 [m] Iyy p0 = 101325 [Pa]
=88500[kgm²]
5. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Table 1 presents the parameters values used in the

system simulations. In all subsequent figures, the red lines represent the
The analyses are executed using Dormand–Prince vehicle with traditional brake and the blue line the vehicle
method (Matlab/Simulink User´s Guide, 2002), accurately with the addition of the regenerative system. Figures 6 and
for convergence of 10-9. The braking action is modeled by a 7 show that the vertical reactions forces of both systems are
ramp curve, which reaches its maximum value in 2s. The similar. These vertical reactions are used to calculate the
analyzed system has 8 cylinders with piston radius of horizontal friction reactions that break the vehicle.
70mm. The proposed vessel volume is 0,1m3.

The comparison of results is accomplished between the

traditional system and the proposed system with the
coupled regenerative brake. The brake operation conditions
are taken from the heavy vehicles braking Brazilian
standards (portaria nº 30, INMETRO (2004)) that
establishes the maximum brake distance of 36,7m for a
vehicle of the N3 class (where it is the urban bus proposed
in this study) with an initial speed of 60km/h, or 16,66m/s.

Figure 6 – Back reaction force.

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by the action of a superior torque in this axis. It can be also

observed that the inertia of the vehicle increases the front
vertical reaction and reduces the back vertical reaction,
causing the same behavior in the horizontal friction forces.

Figure 7 – Front reaction force.

Figure 10 – Back angular velocity.

The acceleration curves are plotted in Fig. 8

Figure 11 – Front angular velocity.

Figure 8 – Acceleration of the vehicle. Figure 12 shows the vessel internal pressure for the
ramp braking curve while Fig. 13 presents the vessel
. Note that there is the presence of oscillations in the internal pressure in another test case in which a pulsed
blue curve caused by the alternative loading of the braking action is simulated.
compressor action. The translational speed is presented in
Fig. 9.

Figure12 – Tank pressure.

Figure 9 – Translational speed. Figure 12 shows that the pressure in the vessel at the
end of compression process is 0,40MPa (equivalent to 4,0
The back wheel angular speed of the regenerative bar). This pressure is accumulated in the 0,1m³ vessel. The
system decreases faster than the system with traditional stored energy is calculated through Eq. (11), and it is equal
brakes, as can be observed in Fig. 11. This effect is caused to 40kJ. The total initial kinetic energy present in the
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vehicle is of 1653kJ, that represents a conservation of in vehicle accessories, as the windshield wiper, the
2,45% of energy. compressor of the air conditioner, in the doors drives, etc.
There is also the possibility combustion motor efficiency
improvement through compressed air injection, increasing
the thermal efficiency by a major compression ratio.
Further studies can accomplish the design of a
compressor actuation smoothing system to be applied to
avoid oscillations in the acceleration curve, as shown in
Fig. 8. Also, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) can be
adopted, in parallel to the regenerative system, to avoid the
wheels blocking. Alternatives, as the use of small and
multiple dispersed pressure vases along the structure of the
vehicle should be considered for the warranty of the
equality of the operation of the brake. Other necessary
Figure 13 – Tank pressure (“pulse” action case). study can accomplish the global transport system with
emphasis in the use of the pneumatic energy saving. This
In the simulation presented in Fig. 13, the brake is study must involve the quantification of the amount of air
actuated in intervals of 2s with period of 1s. As it can be consumed by the accessories in most of the urban transport
verified in Fig. 3, the final pressure is approximately 0,98 vehicles to investigate the economical viability of the
MPa, corresponding to 98kJ in accumulated energy. This proposed system. The design and construction of a
final pressure represents the conservation of 5,92% of the prototype for experimental tests is also necessary to verify
available kinetic initial energy. the system viability.

The correct relationship for the dimensioning of the 7. REFERENCES

group compressor-tank should be accomplished by an
economical analysis. Larger tanks must use more space, 1. Flinders, F., Mathew, R., Oghanna, W., 1995. “Energy
decreasing the bus transport capacity. On the other hand, Savings Through Regenerative Braking Using Retrofit
compressors with high compression ratio are more Converters”. Central Queensland, Australia.
expensive. The economical analysis and energy saving 2. Freitas, S. L. O., Cardoso, G., Júnior, J. L. F. 2002.
balance are not accomplished in this work. “Análise das características geométricas de corredores
de ônibus: estudo na cidade de Porto Alegre, RS”. Porto
Figure 14 shows the wheels translational trajectory Alegre.
along time for the ramp braking case. This figure shows 3. He, X., Hodgson, J., 2002, “Modeling and Simulation
that the vehicle stopping happens in about 3,5 s. for Hibrid Electric Vehicles – Part I”: Modeling, IEEE
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Dynamics”. Warrendale: Society of Automotive
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Model”. Cambridge.
8. The Math Works, 2002, Matlab/Simulink User´s Guide.
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Figure 14 – Braking distance versus time. 2000, “Development and Use of a Regenerative
Braking Model for a Parallel Hybrid Eletric Vehicle”.
6. CONCLUSIONS Ann Arbor:.
10. Perondi, E. A., Guenther, R., 2003 “Modelagem de um
The results obtained using the proposed system allow to servoposicionador pneumático com atrito”. Ciência &
conclude that the use of the pneumatic regenerative system Engenharia. Uberlândia: , v.12, n.1, p.43 - 52,.
reduces in approximately 2,45% the energy consumption 11. Wicks, F., Donnely Y, K, 2002, “Modeling
during a standard brake period. The pneumatic stored Regenerative Braking and storage for vehicles”, New
energy can be used in the actuation of the brake system and York.
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