7 – A look to the future

Publisher Summary To study the overall dimensioning of a flywheel accumulator, it is useful to build a mathematical model that can predict the performance characteristics of the system and can see how they are affected by varying certain design parameters. This type of study can be done at different levels, spanning from very simple models that allow a rough estimation of the mass of the flywheel-housing assembly to very sophisticated models that can take into account many design alternatives and details. This chapter discusses a very simple model of a bare-filament flywheel with a housing consisting of a cylindrical shell and two flat plates with webs. The model can investigate the influence of the outer radius of the flywheel on the mass of the assembly if the angular speed is limited to a maximum by considerations other than the mechanical strength of the rotor. Many newly developed flywheels are now at the prototype stage, and it is predicted that in the near future, some effective units will be produced, although more research and development work is needed before they are more widely used.