Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfhound
It depends on how long you need to store the energy and recharge rates.
Flywheels will lose energy over time due to friction but should have large capacity/weight ratio. To increase flywheel capacity speed and diameter are important weight not so much. effictively they are motor generators and can therefore be designed to charge/discharge quickly. Batteries need more volume & weight to increase capacity so the larger the storage requirement the more weight and volume required. I do not have enough knowledge of super capacitors to comment but they seem to work well in the Toyota.
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Flywheel greatest advantage is that has not any "shaft" linked to the thermal engine. If flywheels fail the car keep on running powered only with the thermal engine. If an hybrid system integrated to the engine and transmission like the toyota one fails, the car retires. I think that next year we will see hybrid semi-permanent AWD lmp1 work cars. A first hybrid system integrated to the engine to supply power to the rear wheels and a second indipendent flywheel hybrid system on the front wheels.