Flywheel

A flywheel is an inertial energy-storage device. It absorbs mechanical energy and serves as a reservoir, storing energy during the period when the supply of energy is more than the requirement and releases it during the period when the requirement of energy is more than the supply.

Flywheels-Function need and Operation The main function of a fly wheel is to smoothen out variations in the speed of a shaft caused by torque fluctuations. If the source of the driving torque or load torque is fluctuating in nature, then a flywheel is usually called for. Many machines have load patterns that cause the torque time function to vary over the cycle. Internal combustion engines with one or two cylinders are a typical example. Piston compressors, punch presses, rock crushers etc. are the other systems that have fly wheel. Flywheel absorbs mechanical energy by increasing its angular velocity and delivers the stored energy by decreasing its velocity.

Design Approach

There are two stages to the design of a flywheel. First, the amount of energy required for the desired degree of smoothening must be found and the (mass) moment of inertia needed to absorb that energy determined. Then flywheel geometry must be defined that caters the required moment of inertia in a reasonably sized package and is safe against failure at the designed speeds of operation.

Design Parameters

Flywheel inertia (size) needed directly depends upon the acceptable changes in the speed.