International Journal of Railway
- Volume 2 Issue 4
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- Pages.139-146
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- 2009
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- 1976-9067(pISSN)
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- 2288-3010(eISSN)
Are Flywheels Right for Rail?
- Read, M.G. (Future Railway Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London) ;
- Smith, R.A. (Future Railway Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London) ;
- Pullen, K.R. (School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, City University)
- Published : 2009.12.31
Abstract
Vehicle braking in non-electrified rail systems wastes energy. Advanced flywheel technology presents a way to capture and reuse this braking energy to improve vehicle efficiency and so reduce the operating costs and environmental impact of diesel trains. This paper highlights the suitability of flywheels for rail vehicle applications, and proposes a novel mechanical transmission system to apply regenerative braking using a flywheel energy storage device. A computational model is used to illustrate the operation and potential benefits of the energy storage system.