Flywheel Energy Storage Layout for Higher Mass Energy Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated flywheel energy storage systems (FESS) struggle to achieve significant miniaturization and weight reduction while maintaining high maximum device mass energy density.
Innovation Solution
The FESS design incorporates a housing for both the motor/generator (M/G) unit and the flywheel unit, featuring a support shaft with coaxially supported flywheel hubs, rotary mass circular wheels, a coreless induction coil stator, and yokeless annular permanent magnet Halbach arrays, along with a bidirectional inverter and vacuum pumping to reduce the number of high-load steel parts and utilize lightweight materials like carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and light metals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the flywheel unit and M/G unit are integrated with shared rotary shaft and concentric arrangement, then system volume is miniaturized, but maximum device mass energy density is hardly improved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes high-load steel parts (yoke, core, and heavy structural components) from the integrated FESS design, replacing them with lightweight materials. This extraction of unnecessary heavy components reduces system mass without compromising structural integrity, thereby improving maximum device mass energy density while maintaining the miniaturized integrated configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials strategy by using lightweight materials (such as aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, or carbon fiber reinforced plastics) to replace traditional steel components. This material substitution maintains mechanical strength and structural integrity while significantly reducing system mass, thus improving mass energy density in the integrated configuration.
2Strength
If more steel parts are used for structural integrity, then strength is improved, but device mass increases reducing energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting lightweight materials with appropriate strength-to-weight ratios (such as aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, or carbon fiber reinforced plastics) to replace steel. This parameter change in material selection maintains required structural integrity while reducing mass, thereby improving maximum device mass energy density.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables dramatic improvements in maximum device mass energy density and system miniaturization by maximizing the energy density of the rotary mass circular wheel and reducing the total system mass, while ensuring structural integrity and performance.
Implementation Method 1
an electrical motor/generator (M/G) unit that mutually converts an electrical energy and rotational motion energy
Implementation Method 2
a flywheel unit configured to store energy as rotational motion
Data Source
AI summary
A flywheel energy storage system that can not only be miniaturized but also can be dramatically improved in a maximum device mass energy density is provided. The flywheel energy storage system includes a flywheel unit (2) in which flywheel hubs (8A), (8B) that are provided with rotary mass circular wheels (9A), (9B) on outer peripheries thereof are supported on support shafts (5A), (5B), and an electrical motor/generator unit (3) that is provided with a stator unit (10) formed by a coreless induction coil (11i) between the flywheel hubs (8A), (8B) that hold rotor units (12A), (12B) formed by a yokeless annular permanent magnet Halbach array.