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Flywheel
Objectives:
• To determine Moment of Inertia of Flywheel.
• To study the working and applications of Flywheel.
Apparatus:
• Flywheel apparatus
• String
• Meter Rod
• Weights
• Stopwatch
Theory:
A flywheel is an inertial energy-storage device. It absorbs mechanical energy and serves as a
reservoir, storing energy during the period when the supply of energy is more than the
requirement and releases it during the period when the requirement of energy is more than
the supply. The main function of a fly wheel is to smoothen out variations in the speed of a
shaft caused by torque fluctuations. Many machines have load patterns that cause the torque
to vary over the cycle. Internal combustion engines with one or two cylinders, piston
compressors, punch presses, rock crushers etc. are the systems that have fly wheel.
Flywheel
It is a mechanical device to store rotational kinetic energy. It resists change in rotational speed by
its moment of inertia. Its common uses are smoothing power output of an energy source where
energy output is not continuous, for e.g.: they are used in reciprocating engines. Figure
Modern flywheel
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The moment of inertia of a body depends on mass and geometrical shape of body. In
case of flywheel,
I=(1/2)mr2
where r is radius from central axis.
The Rotational Kinetic Energy,
Ek= (1/2)Iw2
where w is angular velocity. From this equation it is clear that rotational kinetic energy Ek is directly
proportional to moment of inertia
I=(1/2)mr2
Types of Flywheel
High Speed Flywheels and the Low Speed Flywheels are the two types of flywheels commercially
available in the market.
Precautions:
• Take the measurement of time accurately
• The height of hanger from ground must be measured with high attention.
• No negligence in counting the number of turns of flywheel.
• Lubricate the apparatus in order to reduce error due to friction.
Procedure:
Carefully change the length of the string, so when the weight-holder simply contacts the
ground, the circle sneaks off the stake.
• An appropriate weight is put in the weight holder.
• A chalk mark is made on the edge so it is changed against the pointer when the weight holder
simply contacts the ground.
• The opposite finish of the string is approximately circled around the stake which keeps the
weight holder simply contacting the ground.
• The flywheel is given a reasonable number (n) of turn so the rope is twisted round the hub
without covering.
• The stature (h) of the weight holder from the beginning estimated.
• The flywheel is delivered.
• As the weight holder slips, the flywheel turns.
• When the weight holder simply contacts the ground, the line sneaks off from the stake. At this
point, the flywheel has made n pivots.
• A stop clock is halted exactly when the weight holder contacts the ground.
• This time taken by the flywheel to stop is resolved as 't' seconds.
• The quantities of turns (N) are tallied.
• The test is rehashed a few times by changing the estimation of n and m.
• From these qualities the snapshot of latency of the flywheel is determined utilizing condition
I = Nm / N + n (2gh / ω2 – r2)
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Applications:
There are following applications of Flywheel
1. A typical automotive engine will have four strokes, only one of which generates power. All
the other three strokes take power away from the crankshaft.
So, while in theory, the engine will run because of compression and de-compression, the energy to
keep it going is generated only during one cycle, that's the power stroke. What a flywheel does is,
it stores this energy, and keeps the engine going through the other strokes by providing the energy
back. Diesel engines require more energy through the other strokes owing to higher compression
ratios. That's why they have larger flywheels. And hence, diesel engines typically have greater
amount of torque as compared to similar sized petrol engines.
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2. A momentum wheel is a type of flywheel useful in satellite pointing operations, in which
the flywheels are used to point the satellite's instruments in the correct directions without the use
of thrusters.
Shipbuilding - Moment of Inertia has a big impact on shipbuilding. A ship may sink by rolling, but
a ship will never sink by pitching. The reason is, the Moment of Inertia over pitching axis is
significantly huge compared to that over rolling axis. In battleships, the Moment of Inertia is high
in order to reduce the time period of oscillation as a result of any disturbance. In this application,
the Moment of Inertia is increased by just placing the significant amount of mass away from the
axis of rotation or oscillation.
Possible Errors:
The difference in the values of moment of inertia of Flywheel may be due to following reasons:
• Human error
• Error in stop watch Parallax Error.
• Error in measuring the Time of the fall.
• Friction.
• Involvement of an initial force.
Possible Solutions:
• Repeat the experiment and take the mean time.
• Calibrate the stopwatch, by comparing each second with that of a standard watch or
clock.
• Make sure to mark the initial point well.
• Keep the apparatus smooth, and remember to oil the pulley to ensure frictionless
experiment.
• To avoid any external acceleration, hold the flywheel stationary and then release it
without imparting any initial velocity.
