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Model ID: 4356

Optimizing a Flywheel Profile

The radial stress component in an axially symmetric and homogeneous flywheel of constant thickness exhibits a sharp peak near the inner radius. From there, it decreases monotonously until it reaches zero at the flywheel’s outer rim. The uneven stress distribution reveals a design that does not make optimal use of the material available.

Given specified flywheel mass and moment of inertia, this model solves the problem of finding the optimal thickness profile with respect to the objective of obtaining a radial stress distribution that is as even as possible.

The resulting maximum stress, which occurs in the radial direction at the inner radius, is roughly 40% less for the optimized profile compared to the flat flywheel.

Radial (blue) and azimuthal (red) stress components for initial (dashed) and optimized (solid) flywheel profiles.

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