Kinetic Energy Recovery System for Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a new regenerative brake system of electric vehicles that employs a continuous variable transmission(CVT) and a flywheel. The developed device has advantages over existing regenerative brakes from a standpoint of reliability and versatility in actual driving conditions. The system consists of a CVT, two wheels, a flywheel, a coupling and auxiliary powertrain components. The CVT is designed as a combination of two cones and a roller, which causes the velocity difference between the wheel and the flywheel. The power flow of the flywheel system is controlled by the CVT roller and the coupling through step motors. A prototype has been developed and then its performance has been investigated for various operating conditions. Results show that the storage efficiency of the flywheel is much affected by the vehicle's velocity and it is reduced below 20% for high speed, as compared to the 25% efficiency for an ideal condition. The CVT is a primary factor for lowering the flywheel efficiencies due to large friction and slipping between the cone and the roller.