Flywheel size design considerations and experimental verification using a 50-kW system for voltage sag compensator with flywheel induction motor

Flywheel energy storage systems can be used as an uninterrupted power supply system because they are environmentally friendly and have high durability. The use of a simple voltage sag compensator with a low-speed heavy flywheel and a low-cost squirrel-cage induction motor/generator is proposed. First, the ability of the proposed system to maintain the load voltage at 100% when the grid is experiencing voltage sag is validated experimentally. Next, design guidelines for the flywheel stored energy are discussed. Experimental verification of a 50-kW-class system is carried out, and the results show good agreement with the developed design guidelines. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 181(1): 36–44, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21252