HEAT-ENGINE/MECHANICAL-ENERGY-STORAGE HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY INDICATED THAT A FLYWHEEL-ONLY PROPULSION SYSTEM COULD SATISFY THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED BY THE OFFICE OF AIR PROGRAMS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, FOR A CITY BUS, AND THAT FLYWHEEL/HEAT ENGINE HYBRIDS COULD MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CARS, VANS, AND BUSES. IN ALL CASES SUBSTANTIAL EMISSION-FREE RANGES COULD BE ACHIEVED WITH HYBRID SYSTEMS BY USING THE ENGINE ONLY PERIODICALLY (AT CONSTANT LOAD) TO RECHARGE A LARGE, HIGH-ENERGY FLYWHEEL. EXPERIMENTS VERIFIED THE PRINCIPLE OF THE 'SUPERFLYWHEEL' BY SPIN TESTS OF UNDIRECTIONAL MATERIALS IN ROD OR BAR ROTOR CONFIGURATIONS. (AUTHOR)