Rear Regenerative Shock Absorber for Motorcycle Applications

The purpose of the study was to optimize a cycloidal gearbox which is used in the application for a rear regenerative shock absorber for motorcycles. The operating principle of the gearbox has been analyzed from the point of view of possible configuration layouts and also the analytical equations for static equilibrium, to provide the optimal design based on several criteria. Support functions have been written in order aid in the evaluation of the performance of the gearbox. The functions range from: hertzian pressure acting on the elements within the drive; profile singularity to study the feasibility of the design; and the internal reactions experienced by the elements. The Matlab model is verified against experimental data provided by other similar studies on relevant topics. Geometrical parameters related to the overall performance were used as free variables for the optimization, while respecting the geometrical and operational limitations of the simulation. The optimizer was the readily available genetic algorithm on Matlab called "gamultiobj" due to its capability to handle several variables and minimize two objective functions simultaneously. The function already assess each population against the linear and non-linear constraints provided in matrix form. Sensitivity analysis is also carried beforehand to have an idea beforehand of the results of the optimization and to evaluate the effect of each variable on the machine performance. As a further step a non-liner model is proposed to be adapt to the experimental data found regarding the non-linear trend of the efficiency over a wide range of imposed output torque.