ABSTRACT
In electric vehicles-on-wheels regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism. It is a mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Moreover, in this mechanism the electric traction motor uses the vehicle’s momentum to recover energy that would otherwise be lost to the brake discs as heat. This differs with other conventional braking systems, where the excess kinetic energy is converted to unwanted waste heat due to friction in the brakes, or with rheostatic brakes (i.e., where DC drive motors are used as generators and convert the kinetic energy of the motor rotor and connected load to electrical energy) where the energy is recovered by using electric motors as generators but is immediately dissipated as heat in resistors. A huge advantage of improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle via regeneration is that the life of the braking system will be extended because the mechanical parts will not wear out very quickly.
