Regenerative Braking Systems in Electric Vehicles

(EVs): A Review
Ndonwi Ayoonwi Ambe Vivek Sharma Kapil Sethi
Department of Electronics and Communication Department of Electronics and Communication Computer Science & Enginnering
Engineering Engineering Bahra University
Bahra University, Solan (H.P), India Bahra University, Solan (H.P), India Solan (H.P), India
[email protected] Faridabad, India [email protected]
[email protected]

Mohammed Hussein Fallah

Department of Computer Techniques Engineering, College of Technical
Engineering, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq
2024 3rd Edition of IEEE Delhi Section Flagship Conference (DELCON) | 979-8-3315-1859-2/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/DELCON64804.2024.10866736

Department of Computers Techniques Engineering, College of Technical

The Islamic University of Al Diwaniyah, Iraq
[email protected]

Abstract- The world as it is today is in great need for A. Regenerative Braking System
alternative energy and energy saving solutions. By the law of A regenerative braking system is such a system which is
conservation of energy, Energy can neither be created nor
put in place to be able to convert a significant portion of
destroyed but can be converted from one form to another. Today,
there exist many applications wherein energy is used inefficiently.
Kinetic Energy from the vehicle [4] which should otherwise
One of such applications is in vehicles. From the full power have been lost (in the process of bringing the vehicle to a stop
output provided by engine action, vehicles utilize just about 20% or slowing it down) into some useful energy which can be
and the rest is lost to heat in the form of friction when the brakes stored. [4] This stored energy is ultimately put back into the
are applied. The purpose of this paper is to review regenerative vehicle and hence increasing the system’s overall efficiency.
braking systems as employed in electric vehicles. First, the [2] Usually this Kinetic energy could be lost in the form of heat
subject is introduced. Also, different types of regenerative most often as shall be discussed in a bit which is the case with
braking systems are discussed as well as future scope. There exist the traditional friction brake vehicles [5].
different kinds of regenerative braking systems namely: Electric,
mechanical and hydraulic regenerative braking systems. B. Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking systems should be able to recover most of As shown from the above definition of a regenerative
the energy which should have been lost to friction in the normal braking system (RBS) it’s possible to realize how much of an
braking process. Regenerative braking systems have been seen to energy saver such systems are. Looking at them from the
increase the vehicle’s efficiency and also increased mileage which perspective of their usefulness to the electric vehicle in
translate to fuel economy for Hybrid Electric Vehicle types. comparison with those vehicles which do not utilize the RBS it
can already be seen that there will be a lot of energy wasted
Keywords- Regenerative Braking Systems, Electric Vehicle, which could be recovered.In conventional vehicles with friction
Electric Motor, Flywheel, Kinetic Energy brake a lot of the kinetic energy of the vehicle is wasted to heat
I. INTRODUCTION during a braking action since the car is literally brought to rest
by nothing else but friction between the brake pads and the
The world as it is today has more global concerns as to wheels or a disc connected to the axles. Over time, this cycle
what regards living eco-friendlier lives which encompasses reduces the vehicle’s efficiency significantly [2]. It’s worth
things such as our daily routines and down to even our modes mentioning that a vehicle without RBS is only 20% efficient
of transport. With this in mind, our main mode of terrestrial the remaining 80% [5] energy output is wasted in the form of
transport being vehicles also has to be brought to a point which heat to friction from the braking action.Also, this RBS has
ensures these are eco-friendly and that means reducing the shown to improve fuel efficiency in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
emissions produced by the vehicles used on a daily basis which (HEVs) by [4] 20% and most importantly increases the driving
have a rather adverse effect on the environment due to their range for pure EVs and Hybrids
emissions [1]. Also mentioning a global surge in the market
prices of the fuel, on which these vehicles depend, already is a C. The Working of the Regenerative Braking System
call for some alternate sources of energy and systems which are In electric vehicles or Hybrid vehicles there is the existence
also able to maximize the use of the existing energy systems of a motor that provides the necessary traction (in the case of a
and reduce the losses from these existing systems [2]. A perfect pure EVs). This motor could also work in conjunction with an
example of these energy saving systems will be the engine (in the case of the HEVs) [6].For the most part, the [6]
Regenerative Braking Systems which definitely find their Switch Reluctance Motor (SRM) is thought of as the most
usefulness in Electric Vehicles (EVs) which in themselves are a beneficial option in the operation of the EVs due to some key
big alternative to the Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles advantages of a [6] simple structure, low-cost, high-power
which are prone to all the above listed global concerns [3]. generation and high efficiency.

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 B. Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
The ESU requires a transmission that is able to keep up
with the torque and speed demands and effectively control the
energy flow from and to the vehicle wheels.
C. Controller
This controller is essentially a system to ensure the smooth
supply from the ESU taking over the main engine (in this case
most probably a motor) in such a way as to ensure the ESU
Fig. 1. Normal driving condition [7] kicks in at the right time (which will be when the desired
charge capacity is attained)
Above figure shows Normal driving condition. When a D. Regenerative Braking Controllers
driver steps on the brakes the motor which served initially as
the propelling force for the vehicle begins to act as a generator These are essentially circuits or devices which control the
due to the fact that the motor is now rotating in the reversed brakes as to when braking starts and when the braking action
direction because of this it acts to counter the forward motion ends. Not just this but also how quick the brake response
of the wheels and this action slows down the vehicle [6]. should be.During a typical braking action, the brake controller
will determine how much electricity is generated and passed on
to the batteries. In the same way it ensures the batteries don’t
get over charged [16].Most importantly in the case where the
motor’s regenerative action alone is not sufficient to bring the
car to a stop then the job is passed over to the friction brakes
automatically in such a case [7].
III. TYPES OF REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEMS
There exist various regenerative braking systems which
have been classified thus far based on the [5] energy storage
device or [6] the manner of integration in a hybrid system (this
Fig. 2. Regenerative action during braking [7] obviously works for hybrid EVs).
Above figure shows regenerative action during braking [5] Based on the Energy Storage Device, regenerative braking
when the motor is acting in such a manner it is converting the systems have been shown as under:
mechanical energy into electrical energy which can then be
stored in the batteries or any other storage device of choice [7].  Electric Regenerative Braking Systems
 Mechanical Regenerative Braking Systems (flywheel
II. ELEMENTS OF A REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM based)
There are 4 elements that are able to guarantee the
working of the Regenerative braking system [4]. These  Hydraulic Regenerative braking systems.
are:  Compressed Air Regenerative braking system [4-5].
 Energy Storage Unit Based on the Integration within a hybrid arrangement the
 Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) regenerative braking systems have also been shown to exist as
[6]:
 A controller
 Series Regenerative Braking System
 Regenerative braking Controllers
 Parallel Regenerative Braking
A. Energy Storage Unit
A. Electric Regenerative Braking Systems
The Energy Storage Unit (ESU) performs 2 major roles
which are the roles of recovery of this energy (from the k.e With the electric regenerative braking the same motor
which should otherwise be lost to heat) and its storage. which is used to provide the drive for the vehicle becomes a
generator during a braking action [4].Thus whenever the driver
The actual decision for what the effective energy storage steps on the brake pedal the [4] electronic circuits control the
should be is determined by the following factors: charge flowing through the motor and due to the resistance
offered the motor begins to rotate in the reversed direction
 High specific energy storage density permitting the motor to serve as a generator [12]. Now the
 High energy transfer rate energy generated is stored in a battery or sometimes a bank of
capacitors which may also be used in conjunction. This system
 Small space requirement is usually used alongside friction [4] brakes in order to avoid
The energy recovered can be stored in one of 3 devices: possibilities of brake failure. This therefore means that not all
Batteries, Flywheel, and Compressed. the Kinetic energy can be harnessed at any given time[7].

The types of regenerative braking based on which of these

devices is employed will be discussed in subsequent sections.

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 TABLE I. ENERGY CONSUMPTION WITH AND WITHOUT REGENERATIVE
BRAKING [18]

Energy Consumption (Wh/km)

Day no.
Eregen Enoregen
1. 147.82 148.14
2. 150.40 151.81
3 143.88 154.23
4 140.72 151.58
5 144.00 147.24
6 154.08 153.22
Fig. 3. Regenerative braking Schematic –Drive Mode [1]
7 144.59 153.65
8 147.05 153.51
9 153.19 152.34
10 145.75 153.15
11 150.83 151.85
12 142.20 161.35
13 148.75 164.59
14 142.27 162.76
15 138.99 152.02
Fig. 4. Regenerative braking action – Braking Mode [1] 16 147.68 153.39

B. Mechanical or Flywheel Based Regenerative Braking 17 137.90 155.64

This system makes use of flywheels to be able to store the 18 145.26 157.43
recovered Kinetic Energy in the form of [4] rotational energy in 19 147.05 158.53
the flywheel [8]. It’s important to understand the flywheel as a 20 146.54 161.87
mechanical energy storage device.A flywheel in itself is a
21 146.36 149.62
mechanical device that is commonly used to store kinetic
energy by virtue of its rotation at high speed. The total energy 22 141.82 154.20
that the flywheel can store is dependent upon things such as its 23 142.38 156.94
inertia weight and the angular velocity primarily as shown in 24 146.42 158.31
the relation below.
25 141.50 158.69
K.E = ⁄ [3] 26 145.89 156.26
Where I= mass moment of Inertia, w= angular velocity of 27 144.30 150.78
the spinning wheelThis therefore entails that the amount of 28 142.12 156.56
energy stored by the flywheel depends on the how fast the
29 141.89 149.81
flywheel is rotating and also how heavy it is [5].The heavier the
wheel the more Kinetic Energy it can accumulate. The 30 142.90 152.17
accumulated energy can later be used on start-up of the vehicle 31 144.53 159.28
as it returns the energy back to the vehicle [9]. This system of 32 149.40 152.25
regenerative braking is thought of as being more efficient
comparing it with the Electric regenerative systems [4-5]. IV. COMPARISM OF FLYWHEEL BASED REGENERATIVE BRAKING
C. Hydraulic Regenerative Brake Systems SYSTEMS AND ELECTRIC REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEMS
This is an alternative regenerative braking system One benefit of using flywheel systems is that, the flywheel
developed by Ford Motor and Eaton Corporation [9-11]. This regains some energy even over shorter distances but using a
system makes use of electronic components and some motor as a generator there will be so much energy lost to
hydraulics to be able to perform the tasks of a regenerative friction because the friction brake will be more in control as the
braking system [4].This works as such, whenever the driver regenerative action at this point in time cannot produce a
steps on the brake pedal, the vehicle’s kinetic energy is used to required resistance to slow the vehicle down [1]
power a reversible pump sending hydraulic fluid from a low
Another strong point of these flywheel based systems over
pressure accumulator into a high pressure accumulator [12].
the electric regenerative systems is the Efficiency. The
Now pressure develops in the accumulator by some nitrogen
flywheel systems are known to have twice the efficiency of the
gas as the fluid is filling up the space the gas occupied. As this
electrical regenerative braking systems. This is mainly due to
pressure is built this helps to slow the car down. This will be
the multiple energy form conversions involved as opposed to
the case until the driver releases the brakes and pushes the
the flywheel systems where the mechanical energy is stored
accelerator [13].This kind of Braking system though could be
and supplied in the same form as such no conversion losses are
very efficient can also be prone to leakages in the pipes which
incurred [14].
could lead to an imminent brake failure [9].

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 Moreover, the flywheel systems are more economical than VI. CONCLUSION
the electrical regenerative braking systems [4]. By employing regenerative braking to our vehicles driver
Nonetheless these flywheels based systems have a can be able to recover a great deal of energy which should
downside [4] which is the extra weight they bring, adding to otherwise have been wasted. This goes a long way bringing us
the car’s normal weight [8]. close to the global dream of having eco-friendlier products and
machines for our daily lives including even our means of
A. Advantages of Regenerative Brakes over Friction Brakes terrestrial transportation. By employing such a technology, it
 There is Improved Performance has been observed that our cars and vehicles gradually
becoming less dependent and even totally independent of the
 Reduction in the component parts: In the frictional fossil fuels which have served us for as long as known in the
brakes, brake action is achieved primarily by friction past. Definitely there are still limitations to this technology as
and so wear out of component parts is inevitable. earlier sited but it’s an active research site and the work in this
Whereas with the regenerative systems for instance the area is still in progress with powerful innovations still coming
electric systems, the motor begins to act as a generator to light.
as it rotates in reversed direction and offering a
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