Study of flywheel profile on performance through design and construction of a flywheel energy storage system

• Main Author: Maung Ye Yint Aung.
• Other Authors: Khong Poh Wah
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources; DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Machine design and construction; DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Power resources
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51016
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This project aims to study the effects of flywheel profile on the performance of a flywheel energy storage system (FESS). Three flywheel profile designs are conceived, with all three flywheel designs weighing almost the same weight (±3grams or less than 1%) but have different weight distribution due to the design of their profiles. In order to test the performance of the flywheel designs, a FESS is designed and constructed to provide a testing rig for this project. The performance parameters of this project are determined by the length of time the flywheel can sustain its motion from maximum angular velocity till rest (zero angular velocity) and the maximum angular velocity the flywheel can attain, with the former taking precedence over the latter. Due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate and precise real-time angular velocity of the flywheel using instruments such as a tachometer, mathematical modelling was employed to form a relation between the angular velocity of the flywheel and the output voltage of the FESS. Hence, more accurate and precise experimental results were obtained to determine the performance of each flywheel design. The experimental results obtained validate the theory of a flywheel with more mass distributed to its edge performs better than a flywheel of similar mass but less mass distributed to its edge. E= 1/2 Iω^2, where E which is the amount of energy stored in the flywheel is proportional to its moment of inertia and the square of its angular velocity. The moment of inertia of a flywheel can be increased by distributing its mass away from its axis of rotation without increasing its overall mass.