Evaluation of selected drive components for a flywheel-powered commuter vehicle, Phase I. Final report

Technical Report · Thu Jun 30 04:00:00 EDT 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6559395· OSTI ID:6559395

The Phase I tasks of a project for the development of an energy storing flywheel powerplant for a short-range commuter vehicle were directed towards evaluating and characterizing specific technologies associated with the flywheel propulsion system that were considered to be critical to the successful development of the proposed commuter car. The vehicle flywheel would be designed to operate between 20,000 and 41,000 rpm, storing a total of 16 kw-hrs at the maximum speed of 41,000 rpm. Vertical spin axes were selected so that normal vehicle cornering would not induce gyroscopic forces on the flywheel bearings. Two rotors would turn in opposite directions so that any gyroscopic forces produced by vehicle pitch or roll motions would be balanced within the flywheel assembly and not reflected to the chassis. Each rotor would be assembled from six identical modules stacked on a common shaft, each module being of multi-rim construction. In Phase I, the rotor testing was limited to the outer (most highly stressed) rims from a single module. The bearings and seals were tested under load conditions simulating those expected from a complete six module rotor. The flywheel system failed to achieve target speed and exhibited whip-like instability of the shaft/hub/spoke combination. The bearings and lubricant performed satisfactorily. The ferrofluidic centrifugal seals lacked the ability to withstand adequate pressure differentials. It is recommended that the project concentrate on the development of smaller, composite material flywheels suitable for use in hybrid vehicles. (LCL)

• Research Organization: LMC Corp., Sparks, NV (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76CS51164
• OSTI ID: 6559395
• Report Number(s): DOE/CS/51164-T1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330500* -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Flywheel Propulsion
AUTOMOBILES
BEARINGS
DATA
DESIGN
ENERGY STORAGE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLYWHEEL-POWERED VEHICLES
INFORMATION
NUMERICAL DATA
PERFORMANCE TESTING
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SEALS
STABILITY
STORAGE
TESTING
VEHICLES