Combined Electromechanical-thermal model of a high-speed flywheel energy storage system

The paper presents a Simulink™ model to study the electromechanical and thermal behaviour of an integrated electrical machine – flywheel energy storage system. It enables to define the temperature distribution by an equivalent circuit based on analytical formulations to model the thermal exchange and significant fluid-dynamics effects. Consequently, heating of windings and rotor permanent magnets and overall performance at different power/speed conditions can be evaluated. The results of application to various operating cycles are presented, showing its effectiveness for the preliminary design taking into account different energy demand scenarios.