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which stores energy when the energy supply is more than required for an operation and
releases the stored energy when the supply power does not adequate with the needs. In the
case of the IC engines, the torque on the crankshaft fluctuates during the one complete
cycle of operation that causes a change in angular velocity of the shaft. In order to obtain a
uniform torque, an inertia mass is provided at the end of the shaft, known as the flywheel.
The energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of the angular speed
Flywheel in engine
The flywheel is mounted on the one side of a crankshaft of the transmission line, to reduce
the imbalance of the rotational force on the crankshaft. In the case of the four-stroke engine,
in each cylinder, one power stroke is generated per two revolutions of the crankshaft. The
flywheel stores this energy as kinetic energy and provides the same in the other strokes
(compression, intake, and exhaust) for a continuous engine run. Therefore, in the absence
of a flywheel, the rotation of the crankshaft has become pulsating; and when the interval of
the power stroke becomes long as in the idling state, the engine gets stopped.
The flywheel only reduces the fluctuation of speed. It does not maintain the
constant speed.
The flywheel cannot be used to regulate the speed variation caused by the
varying load. To know about speed regulation in varying load Read
ω = angular velocity
I = the moment of inertia of the mass about the center of rotation.
For solid cylinder