Parameter Analysis of Vibration Damping and Energy Harvesting Performance of Bionic Suspension

The traditional damping structure usually transfers the vibration energy into heat, dissipated and without harvesting. But for harsh environments, such as military activities and lunar probe patrols, the vibration energy can be extracted, and realize the purpose of self-power condition monitoring. In this paper, a bionic suspension with energy-harvesting property is proposed based on bionic configurations. The bionic suspension adopts a symmetrical three-link arrangement to simulate the arrangement of bones, and a horizontal spring to simulate muscles. The micro-generator embedded in the knee joint provides the main damping force for the overall structure and also plays a role in harvesting energy. The dynamic equation and virtual prototype model are established, and the effects of parameter changes on the performance of vibration reduction and energy harvesting are analyzed, and the relationship between the two is revealed. The results show that the parameters to achieve their respective optimal performance are not consistent in the trend, though it is difficult to obtain the best performance of both, it can be designed according to the specific functions to be satisfied. This structure can be utilized as a general model for vibration reduction and energy harvesting scenarios, providing new ideas for self-powered sensing and condition monitoring configurations.