Impact of harmonic road disturbances on active magnetic bearing supported flywheel energy storage system in electric vehicles

Abstract

Flywheel Energy Storage System (FESS) are being considered as a promising solution for energy storage in Electric Vehicles (EVs). However, usage of conventional bearings for such high speed rotors will cause high noise level in the vehicle. On the other hand, Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) can offer contactless suspension for the flywheel rotor system, thereby, resulting in noiseless operation of the FESS. Owing to the irregular road conditions, the AMB-FESS system will be subject to parametric excitation, which is known to cause instability in a system. This work therefore tests the performance of AMBs for FESS, in the case of a EV subject to harmonic base pitch, roll and heave motion with different frequencies.