Kinetic Energy Recovery System is the Flywheel Technology and Volvo using it. Here is brief information about KERS.
What is Kinetic Energy Recovery System?
Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) is a regenerative braking which has an energy recovery mechanism or an automotive systems use under acceleration for kinetic energy of a moving vehicle when it is recovered from breaking and stored in a reservoir. When the car is under breaking process, it creates waste heat.
This is what the device of KERS is for. It recovers the kinetic energy from the waste heat and then stores and converts the energy into power which can be called upon to improve the speed-up. This system is different from conventional brakes, which change the energy from the braking into heat. The generated kinetic energy is used to rotate the flywheel and can be used again when it required, depend on the system configurations.
KERS introduced to endorse the development of eco–friendly and road car related technologies in F1 racing; and to aid overtaking. There is boost button to help the driver to pass the car in front or to escape the driver from being chased. But there are also limits on the device’s use, this is how they need tactics to use the KERS energy—when and where is the right time to use it.
How Does Kinetic Energy Recovery System Work?
Principally, there are 2 types of KERS system; electrical by battery and mechanical by flywheel. For electrical (battery) systems use a motor generator integrated in car’s transmission. It converts mechanical system into electrical energy and electrical to mechanical system. The electrical energy then stored in a battery when it has been harnessed; and will be released when needed.
The regulations stipulate must be under control of the vehicle’s driver. To release the stored energy, the driver only needs to press a boost button on the steering wheel. Meanwhile, the mechanical (flywheel) systems capture a braking power and then use it to spin a small flywheel which can spin more than 80.000 rpm. And when needs extra power, the flywheel is linked to the car’s rear wheels.
This system utilizes flywheel technology to recover and store the moving vehicle’s kinetic energy which is wasted when the vehicle is decelerated.What is the different between electrical and mechanical systems? Mechanical energy is way more efficient because the energy doesn’t change state. There is also hydraulic Kinetic Energy Recovery System. It works where braking energy is used to ‘collect’ hydraulic pressure and when it’s required, it will be sent to the wheels.
But not all cars use KERS. Because it needs extraweight up to 25kg. It causes the raising of car’s center gravity and reduces the amount of ballast which is function to balance the car so when the car’s turning we can predictable more. But this is doesn’t mean that the car which is running the KERS system is heavier than the car which is not. Like example, F1 cars weight is actually around more than 600kg, but the teams build it to be significantly lighter than that, they use up seventy kilograms of counterweight to fetch it up to weight, which means they have less counterweight to move the car around and have less choice to vary the car’s weight distribution.
Kinetic Energy Recovery System Gallery Picture:
