Volvo shows off KERS flywheel tech [w/video]
, and want to re-capture the energy that’s normally lost as heat during braking and use it to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 percent. Need a quick shot of muscle? Volvo’s Flywheel Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) is hooked up to the rear axle to augment the conventionally driven front wheels with up to 80 horsepower to the back tires. This technology isn’t new, but this consortium’s implementation is the first time a system like this has been fitted to a car’s rear axle while a conventional power unit drives the front wheels.
The KERS system’s quick buildup and dissipation makes it most effective in urban driving, which, conveniently, is highly inefficient. The flywheel is made out of carbon fiber and spins in a vacuum at speeds up to 60,000 rpm. That stored energy allows a four-cylinder-powered car to step off the line with more authority, and since it’s a through-the-road style system, a complex and expensive torque-split device isn’t needed to reap the fuel economy benefits of supplementing (or even shutting off) the gasoline engine at opportune moments.
Derek Crabb, Vice Preident of Powertrain Engineering for Volvo Car Coroporation says the relatively inexpensive and highly adaptable flywheel system could be in showrooms within a few years if tests and technical development don’t hit any major snags. Press release and video .
2011, Car, cars, gm, horsepower, ring, test, Time, Video
