The basic setup called for a flywheel KERS to be fitted to the free axle of a car.
When approaching a red light, the driver would hit the brakes like
normal.This would cause the flywheel to spool up and keep spinning until
the lights turn green and the driver hits the accelerator.
At this point, the flywheel's rotation is transferred to the rear
wheels via a specially designed transmission, giving the car a little
boost of energy off the line.
Volvo has announced that it has now completed extensive testing of
the technology on public roads, using an S60 sedan as the test vehicle.
According to the automaker, the results show that the technology
combined with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine has the potential to
reduce fuel consumption by as much as 25 percent compared with a
turbocharged six-cylinder engine--while offering comparable performance.
The energy stored in the flywheel is equivalent to an extra 80
horsepower. And when being transferred back to the wheels, swift torque
build-up means rapid acceleration. The S60 test car would accelerate
from 0-62 mph in about 5.5 seconds--remember, this is a turbocharged
four-cylinder model we’re talking about.
Researchers found that the system works best in urban environments,
which makes sense since the duration of the energy storage (the length
of time the flywheel spins) is limited. In addition, researchers found
that the stored energy was sufficient to power the car for short
periods, meaning the engine could be switched off for as much as 50
percent of the time.
But the benefits don’t end there. Compared to a conventional
gasoline-electric hybrid, Volvo’s flywheel KERS is lighter, cheaper and
easier to maintain.
Now that the technology has proven successful in one of its existing
models, Volvo will start tests in prototypes for its upcoming models and
further evaluate the performance before potentially putting the
technology into production.
Courtesy of Fox News
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