I think you have a great idea. The way I understand it, their flywheel takes 30 seconds to "recharge" using a 70v DC power supply. and travel for 800 metres until needing another charge. 30 seconds at 50 km/hr = 416 metres. so it would need about 400 metres of OHL for every 800 metres of being off the wire, about 1/3 of the route with a wire. I wonder how long it would take to charge using higher power such as 700 volts.
@ahlplex Thank you for posting this; I am nowhere near being an expert on the capabilities of the flywheel including their quantitative ability to charge!
70vDC would be street charging with intermittant electrical points. That's less dangerous than a home socket! I am not sure whether 10x the voltage means 10x the charging speed, but there must be a significant reduction in the time to charge, or even a more highly-charged flywheel that can take the train further without wires.
70v dc is what is considered "touch safe"- a human can touch it without even feeling it. Normal tram voltage of about 700 v dc MIGHT reduce the charge time in half. It is something that should be tested.
I spoke with Mr John Parry of PPM on the phone a couple months ago about an another project. During the call I suggested for him to try a version of his tram with a pantograph and flywheel. That would drastically drop the electrical needs during acceleration,
I think you have a great idea. The way I understand it, their flywheel takes 30 seconds to "recharge" using a 70v DC power supply. and travel for 800 metres until needing another charge. 30 seconds at 50 km/hr = 416 metres. so it would need about 400 metres of OHL for every 800 metres of being off the wire, about 1/3 of the route with a wire. I wonder how long it would take to charge using higher power such as 700 volts.
ahlplex 1 year ago
@ahlplex Thank you for posting this; I am nowhere near being an expert on the capabilities of the flywheel including their quantitative ability to charge!
70vDC would be street charging with intermittant electrical points. That's less dangerous than a home socket! I am not sure whether 10x the voltage means 10x the charging speed, but there must be a significant reduction in the time to charge, or even a more highly-charged flywheel that can take the train further without wires.
bwhugul 1 year ago
@bwhugul
70v dc is what is considered "touch safe"- a human can touch it without even feeling it. Normal tram voltage of about 700 v dc MIGHT reduce the charge time in half. It is something that should be tested.
I spoke with Mr John Parry of PPM on the phone a couple months ago about an another project. During the call I suggested for him to try a version of his tram with a pantograph and flywheel. That would drastically drop the electrical needs during acceleration,
ahlplex 1 year ago
Would there be increased wear on the the pantograph and/or overhead wires with this proposal though?
InterCity82 1 year ago
Very impressive, i wish you support for your campaign
joprix27 1 year ago