Flywheel electric motor/generator characterization for hybrid vehicles

In this paper, the power and energy of a passenger vehicle with a typical acceleration profile and several particular drive cycles are examined. Then the power and energy of a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is studied and the characteristics are compared to the vehicle requirements to see how design decisions may be optimized for the FESS-based hybrid vehicle (HV) application. The special characteristics of the major FESS components (power electronics, motor-generator, and flywheel kinetic energy element) offer an opportunity for optimization for hybrid vehicle operation.