Flywheel energy storage

NASA G2 flywheel

Flywheel energy storage (FES) works by accelerating a rotor (flywheel) to a very high speed and maintaining the energy in the system as rotational energy. When energy is extracted from the system, the flywheel's rotational speed is reduced as a consequence of the principle of conservation of energy; adding energy to the system correspondingly results in an increase in the speed of the flywheel.

Most FES systems use electricity to accelerate and decelerate the flywheel, but devices that directly use mechanical energy are being developed.[1]

Advanced FES systems have rotors made of high strength carbon filaments, suspended by magnetic bearings, and spinning at speeds from 20,000 to over 50,000 rpm in a vacuum enclosure.[2] Such flywheels can come up to speed in a matter of minutes — much quicker than some other forms of energy storage.[2]

Main components

The main components of a typical flywheel.

A typical system consists of a rotor suspended by bearings inside a vacuum chamber to reduce friction, connected to a combination electric motor and electric generator.

First generation flywheel energy storage systems use a large steel flywheel rotating on mechanical bearings. Newer systems use carbon-fiber composite rotors that have a higher tensile strength than steel but are an order of magnitude less heavy.[3]

Magnetic bearings are sometimes used instead of mechanical bearings, to reduce friction.

The expense of refrigeration led to the early dismissal of low temperature superconductors for use in magnetic bearings. However, high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) bearings may be economical and could possibly extend the time energy could be stored economically. Hybrid bearing systems are most likely to see use first. High-temperature superconductor bearings have historically had problems providing the lifting forces necessary for the larger designs, but can easily provide a stabilizing force. Therefore, in hybrid bearings, permanent magnets support the load and high-temperature superconductors are used to stabilize it. The reason superconductors can work well stabilizing the load is because they are perfect diamagnets. If the rotor tries to drift off center, a restoring force due to flux pinning restores it. This is known as the magnetic stiffness of the bearing. Rotational axis vibration can occur due to low stiffness and damping, which are inherent problems of superconducting magnets, preventing the use of completely superconducting magnetic bearings for flywheel applications.

Since flux pinning is the important factor for providing the stabilizing and lifting force, the HTSC can be made much more easily for FES than for other uses. HTSC powders can be formed into arbitrary shapes so long as flux pinning is strong. An ongoing challenge that has to be overcome before superconductors can provide the full lifting force for an FES system is finding a way to suppress the decrease of levitation force and the gradual fall of rotor during operation caused by the flux creep of SC material.

Physical characteristics

General

Compared with other ways to store electricity, FES systems have long lifetimes (lasting decades with little or no maintenance;[2] full-cycle lifetimes quoted for flywheels range from in excess of 105, up to 107, cycles of use),[4] high energy density (100-130 W·h/kg, or 360-500 kJ/kg),[4][5] and large maximum power output. The energy efficiency (ratio of energy out per energy in) of flywheels can be as high as 90%. Typical capacities range from 3 kWh to 133 kWh.[2] Rapid charging of a system occurs in less than 15 minutes.[6] The high energy densities often cited with flywheels can be a little misleading as commercial systems built have much lower energy density, for example 11 W·h/kg, or 40 kJ/kg.[7]

Energy density

The maximum energy density of a flywheel rotor is mainly dependent on two factors, the first being the rotor's geometry, and the second being the properties of the material being used. For single-material, isotropic rotors this relationship can be expressed as[8]

$\frac{E}{m} = K\left(\frac{\sigma}{\rho}\right)$,

where the variables are defined as follows:

$E$ - kinetic energy of the rotor [J]
$m$ - the rotor's mass [kg]
$K$ - the rotor's geometric shape factor [dimensionless]
$\sigma$ - the tensile strength of the material [Pa]
$\rho$ - the material's density [kg/m^3]

Geometry (shape factor)

The highest possible value for the shape factor of a flywheel rotor, is $K=1$, which can only be achieved by the theoretical constant-stress disc geometry.[9] A constant-thickness disc geometry has a shape factor of $K=0.606$, while for a rod of constant thickness the value is $K=0.333$. A thin cylinder has a shape factor of $K=0.5$.

Material properties

For energy storage purposes, materials with high strength, and low density are desirable. For this reason, composite materials are frequently being used, in advanced flywheels. The strength-to-density ratio of a material can be expressed in the units [Wh/kg], and values greater that 400 Wh/kg can be achieved by certain composite materials.

Composite rotors

Several modern flywheel rotors are made from composite materials. Examples include the Smart Energy 25 flywheel from Beacon Power Corporation,[10] and the PowerThru flywheel from Phillips Service Industries.[11]

For these rotors, the relationship between material properties, geometry and energy density can be expressed by using a weighed-average approach.[12]

Applications

Transportation

In the 1950s, flywheel-powered buses, known as gyrobuses, were used in Yverdon, Switzerland and there is ongoing research to make flywheel systems that are smaller, lighter, cheaper and have a greater capacity. It is hoped that flywheel systems can replace conventional chemical batteries for mobile applications, such as for electric vehicles. Proposed flywheel systems would eliminate many of the disadvantages of existing battery power systems, such as low capacity, long charge times, heavy weight and short usable lifetimes. Flywheels may have been used in the experimental Chrysler Patriot, though that has been disputed.[13]

Flywheels have also been proposed for use in continuously variable transmissions. Punch Powertrain is currently working on such a device.[14]

During the 1990s, Rosen Motors developed a gas turbine powered series hybrid automotive powertrain using a 55,000 rpm flywheel to provide bursts of acceleration which the small gas turbine engine could not provide. The flywheel also stored energy through regenerative braking. The flywheel was composed of a titanium hub with a carbon fiber cylinder and was gimbal-mounted to minimize adverse gyroscopic effects on vehicle handling. The prototype vehicle was successfully road tested in 1997 but was never mass-produced.[15]

Rail vehicles

Flywheel systems have also been used experimentally in small electric locomotives for shunting or switching, e.g. the Sentinel-Oerlikon Gyro Locomotive. Larger electric locomotives, e.g. British Rail Class 70, have sometimes been fitted with flywheel boosters to carry them over gaps in the third rail. Advanced flywheels, such as the 133 kW·h pack of the University of Texas at Austin, can take a train from a standing start up to cruising speed.[2]

The Parry People Mover is a railcar which is powered by a flywheel. It was trialled on Sundays for 12 months on the Stourbridge Town Branch Line in the West Midlands, England during 2006 and 2007 and was intended to be introduced as a full service by the train operator London Midland in December 2008 once two units had been ordered. In January 2010, both units are in operation.[16]

Laboratories

A long-standing niche market for flywheel power systems are facilities where circuit-breakers and similar devices are tested: even a small household circuit-breaker may be rated to interrupt a current of 10,000 or more amperes, and larger units may have interrupting ratings of 100,000 or 1,000,000 amperes. The enormous transient loads produced by deliberately forcing such devices to demonstrate their ability to interrupt simulated short circuits would have unacceptable effects on the local grid if these tests were done directly from building power. Typically such a laboratory will have several large motor-generator sets, which can be spun up to speed over some minutes; then the motor is disconnected before a circuit breaker is tested.

Other similar high power applications are in tokamak fusion (like the Joint European Torus) and laser experiments, where very high currents are also used for very brief intervals. JET has two 775 ton flywheels that can spin up to 225 rpm.[22]

Amusement rides

The Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure features a rapidly accelerating uphill launch as opposed to the typical gravity drop. This is achieved through powerful traction motors that throw the car up the track. To achieve the brief very high current required to accelerate a full coaster train to full speed uphill, the park utilizes several motor generator sets with large flywheels. Without these stored energy units, the park would have to invest in a new substation and risk browning-out the local energy grid every time the ride launches.

Pulse power

Since FES can store and release energy quickly, they have found a niche providing pulsed power (see compulsator).

Motor sports

A Flybrid Systems Kinetic Energy Recovery System built for use in Formula One

The FIA has re-allowed the use of KERS (see kinetic energy recovery system) as part of its Formula One 2009 Sporting Regulations.[23] which is now back in for the 2011 Formula 1 season. Using a continuously variable transmission (CVT), energy is recovered from the drive train during braking and stored in a flywheel. This stored energy is then used during acceleration by altering the ratio of the CVT.[24] In motor sports applications this energy is used to improve acceleration rather than reduce carbon dioxide emissions—although the same technology can be applied to road cars to improve fuel efficiency.[25]

Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organizer behind the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans event and the Le Mans Series, is currently "studying specific rules for LMP1 which will be equipped with a kinetic energy recovery system."[26]

Grid energy storage

Beacon Power opened a 20 MW, (5 MWh over 15 mins)[27] flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York in 2011.[28] Lower carbon emissions, faster response times and ability to buy power at off-peak hours are among some advantages of using flywheels instead of traditional sources of energy for peaking power plants.[29]

Wind turbines

Flywheels may be used to store energy generated by wind turbines during off-peak periods or during high wind speeds.

Beacon Power recently began testing of their Smart Energy 25 (Gen 4) flywheel energy storage system at a wind farm in Tehachapi, California. The system is part of a wind power/flywheel demonstration project being carried out for the California Energy Commission (Beacon Power Press Release March 2010).

Toys

Friction motors used to power many toy cars, trucks, trains, action toys and such, are simple flywheel motors.

Toggle action presses

In industry, toggle action presses are still popular. The usual arrangement involves a very strong crankshaft and a heavy duty connecting rod which drives the tup. Large and heavy flywheels are driven by electric motors but the flywheels only turn the crankshaft when clutches are activated.

Flywheels are not as adversely affected by temperature changes, can operate at a much wider temperature range, and are not subject to many of the common failures of chemical rechargeable batteries.[30] Unlike lithium ion polymer batteries which operate for a finite period of roughly 36 months, a flywheel can potentially have an indefinite working lifespan. Flywheels built as part of James Watt steam engines have been continuously working for more than two hundred years.[31] Working examples of ancient flywheels used mainly in milling and pottery can be found in many locations in Africa, Asia, and Europe.[32][33] They are also less potentially damaging to the environment, being largely made of inert or benign materials. Another advantage of flywheels is that by a simple measurement of the rotation speed it is possible to know the exact amount of energy stored. However, use of flywheel accumulators is currently hampered by the danger of explosive shattering of the massive wheel due to overload.

One of the primary limits to flywheel design is the tensile strength of the material used for the rotor. Generally speaking, the stronger the disc, the faster it may be spun, and the more energy the system can store. When the tensile strength of a flywheel is exceeded the flywheel will shatter, releasing all of its stored energy at once; this is commonly referred to as "flywheel explosion" since wheel fragments can reach kinetic energy comparable to that of a bullet. Consequently, traditional flywheel systems require strong containment vessels as a safety precaution, which increases the total mass of the device. Fortunately, composite materials tend to disintegrate quickly to red-hot powder once broken, instead of large chunks of high-velocity shrapnel. Still, many customers of modern flywheel energy-storage systems prefer to have them embedded in the ground to halt any material that might escape the containment vessel.

An additional limitation for some flywheel types is energy storage time. Flywheel energy storage systems using mechanical bearings can lose 20% to 50% of their energy in 2 hours.[34] Much of the friction responsible for this energy loss results from the flywheel changing orientation due to the rotation of the earth (a concept similar to a Foucault pendulum). This change in orientation is resisted by the gyroscopic forces exerted by the flywheel's angular momentum, thus exerting a force against the mechanical bearings. This force increases friction. This can be avoided by aligning the flywheel's axis of rotation parallel to that of the earth's axis of rotation.

Conversely, flywheels with magnetic bearings and high vacuum can maintain 97% mechanical efficiency, and 85% round trip efficiency.[27]

When used in vehicles, flywheels also act as gyroscopes, since their angular momentum is typically of a similar order of magnitude as the forces acting on the moving vehicle. This property may be detrimental to the vehicle's handling characteristics while turning. On the other hand, this property could be utilized to keep the car balanced so as to keep it from rolling over during sharp turns. Conversely, the effect can be almost completely removed by mounting the flywheel within an appropriately applied set of gimbals, where the angular momentum is conserved without affecting the vehicle (see Properties of a gyroscope). This doesn't avoid the complication of gimbal lock, and so a compromise between the number of gimbals and the angular freedom is needed. A single gimbal, for instance, could free a car for the 360 degrees necessary for regular driving. However, for instance driving up-hill would require a new gimbal mechanism with a new degree of freedom. Two gimbals would theoretically solve this problem and never lock unless the car rolls.

An alternative solution to the problem is to have two joined flywheels spinning synchronously in opposite directions. They would have a total angular momentum of zero and no gyroscopic effect. A problem with this solution is that when the difference between the momentum of each flywheel is anything other than zero the housing of the two flywheels would exhibit torque. Both wheels must be maintained at the same speed to keep the angular velocity at zero. Strictly speaking, the two flywheels would exert a huge torqueing moment at the central point, trying to bend the axle. However, if the axle were sufficiently strong, no gyroscopic forces would have a net effect on the sealed container, so no torque would be noticed.

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References

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3. ^ Flybrid System KERS using carbon fiber flywheel
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