First F1 speed demons now Excavators!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Sci Fi Engineer

Ricardo innovated the basic flywheel in a number of ways. The flywheel is hermetically sealed in a container, with a sealed-for-life vacuum, transmitting power through a magnetic gear drive. They use high-speed rolling elements with a composite flywheel unit that allows the system to spin up to 60,000 rpm. The vacuum environment means low losses due to air friction. The demonstration system stores 0.25 kW·h and delivers maximum torque of 28 N·m (20.6 lb·ft) as measured at the flywheel. The company noted that is working on three storage units rated at 0.055 kW·h, 0.25 kW·h, and 1.25 kW·h.

The Williams F1 team, however, developed a novel flywheel-electric system with a flywheel tied to a motor-generator. The flywheel is the energy storage system rather than electro-chemical battery. The race team has formed a subsidiary called Williams Hybrid Power to try and commercialize the system. Williams has now formed a consortium with Ricardo, Torotrac, Land Rover and several other companies for a demonstration project to evaluate its system as well as a flywheel magnetic system from Ricardo in commercial applications. The goal is to develop an on-the-road system for under £1000 ($2,000). The new KinerStor demonstration project is partially funded by the UK government through the technology strategy board.

More at: http://green.autoblog.com/2009/11/25/ricardo-and-williams-team-on-kinerstor-flywheel-hybrid-demonstra/Some background from a 2011 Economist article

An Electric Air about them

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Sci Fi Engineer

Flying hybrid: This two-seater electric-gas airplane may be the first of many to take to the skies

UVa’s Sustinere design for a 50-seat jet eschews batteries in favor of a turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP) concept – two 2,500shp turboshaft engines under the wing generating electrical power to drive six 3,300lb-thrust fans arrayed in a duct that wraps around the upper fuselage.

The EADS IW concept uses a single large turbine engine to generate electricity to power six ducted fans that provide thrust. This allows propulsive and thermal efficiency to be optimized separately. The turbine engine can be optimized for thermal efficiency (turning fuel into shaft power) while the ducted fans increase effective bypass ratio and therefore propulsion efficient (turning shaft power into thrust).

Read more at AWST : eConcept – EADS’s Hybrid-Electric Airliner

Two years after Honeywell and Safran announced plans to develop an electric-drive system, the team is preparing to demonstrate a proof-of-concept system on an Airbus A320 at this year’s Paris air show.

The result of close collaborations with Finmeccanica companies – Selex ES, Ansaldo Breda, and Ansaldo Energia – and partner companies from Italy, UK, U.S. and Japan, the aircraft embeds some unuque features: aesthetically pleasing styling and aerodynamically unique tiltrotor configuration; carbon graphite exterior surfaces; High-Integrity Flight Control Computer and Actuator Control Unit; custom produced electric motor inverter and motor control algorithm; axial flux permanent magnet electric motors.