Publications Details
Flywheels
Ubiquitous in rotating machinery, flywheels smooth the flow of energy in rotary systems ranging from small engines to large reciprocating machines. A new class of standalone flywheel energy storage system has been in use since the late 20th century. These systems are electrically connected to the applications that they serve. They may be found in applications as diverse as uninterruptible power supplies, racecars, and large physics research facilities. This chapter presents the theoretical and practical foundations of flywheel design, the history of flywheels from ancient times to the present, flywheel subsystem technology, and a survey of applications where flywheel energy storage systems are currently in service.