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Volvo Flywheel Tech Improves Mileage By 25 Percent
We hear have about KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) a lot these days, but it's mostly to do with improving the performance of sports cars rather than increasing mileage. The new technology developed by Volvo does the latter.
The new Volvo developed technology is called Flywheel KERS, so called because the energy here is recovered using a flywheel instead of battery. Volvo claims the mechanism can improve fuel economy by up to 25 percent. The video below explains how the system works.
The system makes use of a container housing a flywheel in vacuum, which is attached to the rear axle. In Volvo's own words, "During retardation, the braking energy causes the flywheel to spin at up to 60,000 revs per minute. When the car starts moving off again, the flywheel's rotation is transferred to the rear wheels via a specially designed transmission."
To maximize the energy savings, the engine shuts off as soon as brakes are applied. The energy thus stored, is made use of when the engine starts back on, thus reducing the demand on the engine to get the car moving from a standstill.
Volvo says, the Flywheel KERS is most useful in Start-Stop traffic, as the engine is used only about half the time you drive around in city.
Furthermore, Volvo says the system improves the performance as well. The S60 test car used could reach 62 mph or 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.
Volvo in previous attempts, as early as 1980s, developed flywheels that proved to be too heavy. This one uses, you guessed it, carbon fiber, which adds only 6 kg.
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