Flywheels in Engineering

This publication, from the Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP), looks at the topic of flywheels and how they can be used to store or smooth energy flows. The book initially provides information for students on the following topics:

• The energy-storage system
• Cyclicity of supply
• Energy and system energy efficiency
• Energy types and their storage cycles Flywheels
• Static applications
• Electricity generation output buffering
• Energy density and availability
• Bearing on efficiency
• The construction of rotors
• Flywheel applications
• Mechanical drive systems

There are also a series of activities that allow students to investigate a range of properties associated with flywheels and energy storage. These are:

• To set up and observe the performance of a motor / flywheel system.
• To investigate how energy is utilised and stored in a driver / flywheel system with the flywheel mounted in different orientations.
• To investigate the characteristics of the electric motor.
• To investigate the effects of changes in the nature of the flywheel on the system’s operation.