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Bumps on road fuel cars

Shock absorbers help vehicles recharge from speedbreakers

NEXT time your car hits a bump on the road do not curse. Rather, use these shockers to increase the fuel efficiency of your vehicle by 10 per cent. A new shock absorber developed by a team of researchers can generate electricity to fuel your vehicle when it hits a bump.
In ordinary vehicles it is the suspension system that helps it absorb shock by braking at speed-breakers. Hence it is in the suspension that the researchers from the Massachusetts Univeristy of Technology, US, saw an opportunity.
The group used different car models, fitted the suspension with sensors and drove around. The tests showed a significant amount of energy wasted, specially in heavy vehicles.
The group then tried to find methods by which this wasted energy could be harnessed. They replaced the suspension system with a contraption consisting of a hydraulic system that forced the fluid through a turbine when the vehicle hit a bump. The turbine was connected to a generator that converted mechanical energy to electrical energy. The electrical energy was used by the vehicle thus saving energy. The system can operate in vehicles which are completely battery-driven or run on a combination of fuel and battery (hybrids).
According to the group

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