Before beginning, I recommend that you understand Moment of Inertia by clicking here, since questions are asked from it.
What is the principle of flywheel?
It works on the principle of conservation of angular momentum and its ability to store kinetic energy.
What is crank and shaft in flywheel?
- Crank: A mechanical component used to apply torque to a system causing a flywheel to rotate.
- Shaft: The axis (or rod) on which the flywheel rotates, allowing it to spin when torque is applied.
What are the practical uses of flywheel? What are its daily uses?
In stationary engines(flywheel stores sufficient energy when the piston is acted upon by maximum force and later on this stored energy is delivered to the machine when the force acting on the piston decreases to a minimum and thus the motion of the machine is rendered smooth and steady).
Flywheels smooth car engine operation, maintain consistent speed in power tools, store renewable energy, balance power in industrial machines, provide resistance in exercise equipment, regulate older clocks, etc.
How does flywheel stores energy?
A flywheel is a mechanical device designed to store kinetic energy by rotating a mass at high speed.
Additional Questions (Occasionally asked)
Why is the mass of a flywheel concentrated at rim?
This increases the radius of gyration and hence the moment of inertia.
Why the flywheel continues its revolutions even after the cord has slipped off the axle?
It continues its revolutions due to its large moment of inertia.
Then, why does it stop after a very short time?
The energy of the flywheel is dissipated in overcoming the friction at the ball bearings.
Can you use a thin wire instead of a string?
No, we cannot use a wire because metals are pliable and so when the wire unwinds itself, some amount of work will also be done in straightening the wire.
Why do you keep the loop slipped over the peg loose?
We keep the loop slipped over the peg loose so that it may get detached as soon as the string unwinds itself and does not get rewind in opposite direction.
Is flywheel used in mobile engines also?
No, it is not needed in mobile engines, because the heavy body of vehicle itself serves the purpose of flywheel.