The working principle of the energy storage flywheel on the zambian aircraft carrier

What is the performance of Flywheel energy storage systems?

The performance of flywheel energy storage systems operating in magnetic bearing and vacuum is high. Flywheel energy storage systems have a long working life if periodically maintained (>25 years). The cycle numbers of flywheel energy storage systems are very high (>100,000).

What is a magnetic bearing in a flywheel energy storage system?

In simple terms, a magnetic bearing uses permanent magnets to lift the flywheel and controlled electromagnets to keep the flywheel rotor steady. This stability needs a sophisticated control system with costly sensors. There are three types of magnetic bearings in a Flywheel Energy Storage System (FESS): passive, active, and superconducting.

What is the operational mechanism of a flywheel?

The operational mechanism of a flywheel has two states: energy storage and energy release. Energy is stored in a flywheel when torque is applied to it. The torque increases the rotational speed of the flywheel; as a result, energy is stored. Conversely, the energy is released in the form of torque to the connected mechanical device .

Can small applications be used instead of large flywheel energy storage systems?

Small applications connected in parallel can be used instead of large flywheel energy storage systems. There are losses due to air friction and bearing in flywheel energy storage systems. These cause energy losses with self-discharge in the flywheel energy storage system.

How can flywheels be more competitive to batteries?

The use of new materials and compact designs will increase the specific energy and energy density to make flywheels more competitive to batteries. Other opportunities are new applications in energy harvest, hybrid energy systems, and flywheel’s secondary functionality apart from energy storage.

Which method is used in flywheel energy storage system?

Another method used in flywheel energy storage systems is to store energy with high speed. In this method the rotating object is rotated up to 100,000 rpm . The rotating object weight is low in this method. This method is used in small applications in terms of volume and weight.