Torotrak pushes for flywheel hybrid systems

torotrak
Torotrak’s full-toroidal traction drive is the vital link between the flywheel energy store and the base powertrain

Drive specialist Torotrak will be presenting a mechanical hybrid assist system at the SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress sometime this week. Torotrak says a mechanical system similiar to some F1 KERS implementations is a fundamentally more efficient approach as energy remains in the mechanical state.

When it comes to electric motor assist systems that are used in all mild hybrid systems now, mechanical energy harvested from brake energy regeneration has to be converted into electricity, then converted into chemical energy in the battery, and then later converted back into electricity and into mechanical energy again when it is used. At each conversion stage, there is an efficiency loss.

The basic architecture of the mechanical hybrid is a lightweight high speed flywheel connected with a CVT to the engine. Torotrak’s paper will highlight past successes with flywheel hybrid bus applications and F1 systems.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • Abdul Qayyum on Oct 04, 2009 at 10:36 am

    changing energy… cool technology.. i wonder when will this tech implement into normal cars…. hurm…

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  • Darius on Oct 04, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    Conversion of energy from one state to another refers to the current technology applied in most hybrids. This Torotrak system is more efficient, as it seems to store mechanical energy that requires no conversion in the process of storage or release, hence it is more efficient than the typical hybrid system.

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  • rexis on Oct 04, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    If they can implement this flywheel energy storage into a passenger car, by all means do it! Besides, the car surely dont mind put on a bit more weight of the fly wheel system after deducting considerable weight of the battery!

    And a flywheel energy storage gotta be much easier understood and more durable compare to battery I suppose?

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  • Less damage to the environment too!

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  • mystvearn on Oct 04, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    As far as I can remember only BMW are using the flywheel in F1 and they are nowhrere near Mclaren's KERS.

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  • kassim jamal on Oct 05, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Mclaren's KERS didn't work in the last two race .. another great technology from F1 to road.

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  • Hameed Koyakuti on Oct 06, 2009 at 12:08 am

    Hybrid but still rely on fossil fuel to generate power to energy. When can we get full fledge mass pro renewable source eg. palm oil, water, ethanol, sugar cane etc.??? I believes the oil majors have the technology, but refrain to go for mass usage until such laws were passed following initiative from California government.

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  • Another copy of an rather old invention…

    Flywheel systems exist since the 1940s:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrobus

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  • rexis on Oct 06, 2009 at 7:33 am

    Practical fuel cell is about the same age, if not older, Mohd.

    Btw, pst pst, it looks like a flywheel hybrid car will be like carrying 2 engines.

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  • melonfarmer on Oct 06, 2009 at 11:46 am

    @mystvearn: BMW were using battery KERS too – they electrocuted their mechanic in 2008 – but scrapped it for being too ineffective and aerodynamically inefficient. Battery KERS seems to be getting more unreliable with age…

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