Xtrac, Flybrid to Reveal Technical Secrets at Global Conference

October 2007 -- Martin Halley, chief engineer with Xtrac and Jon Hilton, managing partner of Flybrid Systems, a new company taking a fresh look at hybrid vehicle technology, will describe the technical innovations behind their groundbreaking mechanical flywheel 'kinetic energy recovery system' (KERS) - which also incorporates advanced traction drive technology from Torotrak, at a forthcoming high-level motorsport industry conference.

"The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulatory body which governs motorsport, has recognised that motor racing provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate new technologies which could be relevant to the automotive mainstream", say Halley, whose presentation will provide an overview of new F1 regulations and the technology and materials required to develop the sophisticated transmission system required for a mechanical based KERS system.

"The new rules being drawn up for F1 will stimulate the development of new and exciting technologies, within a competitive environment, which may otherwise not have occurred. This means rapid product development is required right here and right now" commented Hilton, whose technical paper will discuss the recovery and storage of braking energy in a mechanical-based flywheel system.

Flybrid has already secured one unnamed F1 team as a customer and is confident others will follow given the benefits of a fast-acting flywheel system, which offers twice the efficiency, half the mass and more rapid transfer of energy compared with hybrid battery electrical systems. The company is also well on its way to bench testing a flywheel KERS system adapted for road car applications using a Chevrolet V8 engine.

Flybrid's brake regenerative system uses advanced gearbox technology provided by transmission specialist Torotrak and Xtrac. The system employs a small and sophisticated ancillary gearbox manufactured by Xtrac using a continuously variable transmission (CVT) design licensed from Torotrak - whose patented traction drive technology is being developed by Xtrac for motorsport applications. The auxiliary CVT 'variator' and flywheel system will form part of the F1 racecar driveline assembly.

The role played by Flybrid and Xtrac in designing a mechanical KERS system for F1 could be instrumental in developing this pioneering vehicle technology for more fuel efficient road cars without resorting to the expense and complexity of battery systems. Compared with hybrid electrical vehicles which uses batteries for energy storage, a mechanical KERS system utilises flywheel technology as a highly efficient alternative to recover and store a moving vehicle's kinetic energy.

The kinetic energy is stored during a braking manoeuvre and is then released back into the driveline as the vehicle accelerates. Flybrid, torotrak and Xtrac claim that compared to the alternative of electrical-battery systems, a mechanical KERS system can provide a more compact, lighter and environmentally-friendly solution.

Torotrak's patented technology is a vital element in the system as it provides a continuously variable connection between the flywheel and the vehicle driveline. Xtrac's licence and development of the system for motorsport applications allows it to design, manufacture, assemble and distribute complete variator systems and discreet components to F1 customers.

For F1 applications, the variator and flywheel each weigh less than 5kg in a system with a total mass not exceeding 25kg. This relatively low mass is a major advantage both for race and road cars. The high level of mechanical efficiency combined with the variator's ability to change ratio very rapidly, both forward and in reverse, helps to optimise flywheel performance. The transmission system selects the appropriate ratio depending on the torque demand and can change its 6-to-1 ratio within one revolution.

"Performance calculations show we can go from zero to full power in 50ms" says Hilton, "this is faster than the driver can apply the brake pedal".

Xtrac, Flybrid and Torotrak see the potential for wider application beyond motorsport - initially on high-performance road cars - both as an aid to performance and as a means of developing vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 levels. Applied to road cars the system supports the current motor industry trend for smaller powertrains; a kinetic energy recovery system provides a means of boosting acceleration and overall performance and economy independently of the vehicle's internal combustion engine.

“The flywheel also runs in a vacuum which is a natural barrier to noise,” says Hilton. “For optimum refinement in a road car the engineering effort would be focused on the transmission system and bearings - which provides the only noise path - it’s exactly the same test and development process in other words as for a normal powertrain.”

Halley and Hilton will join other influential figures from the automotive and motorsport industries attending the Global Motorsports Congress being held in Cologne on 5-6 November 2007. This global industry event takes place the same week and in the same location as the Professional MotorSport World Expo, where Xtrac will be exhibiting a wide range of transmission systems alongside other leading motorsport manufacturers.

Later this year Chris Brockbank business development manager Torotrak will present a paper describing the sophisticated variator traction drive technology, which is a key part of the mechanical KERS system, at the CTi Transmission Symposium on 4/5 Dec 2007 in Berlin.

Adrian Moore, technical director, Xtrac, will similarly present a technical paper describing the technology behind the KERS system at the World Motorsport Symposium, which takes place on 29/30 November at Oxford Brooks University’s brand new engineering centre. He joins other senior engineers who will be bringing their particular expertise to bear on subjects that are of special relevance to the growing demand that motorsport technologies should be of more relevance to the road car of tomorrow.

Moore will also discuss the mechanical KERS system with mainstream automotive engineers and technical experts attending the Global Powertrain Congress being held at Berlin in June 2008.

Source: Xtrac

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