Surely you have ever heard that the car moves by inertia. This is due to flywheel. It is a very important part that conditions the movement of a vehicle's engine. It is rare that a person who is not dedicated to working in this field knows neither the flywheel nor how it works or what it is for. However, it is quite advisable to know everything about it, since it is a key part of our vehicle.
Do you want to know everything about the flywheel? In this post we will tell you everything, you just have to keep reading.
Generalities
As we have mentioned, the flywheel is one of the parts belonging to the engine of a vehicle that conditions movement and is one of the most important. A mechanic is familiar with this name and as soon as he hears that name he knows everything about it. It is quite useful to know about this part and how it works to avoid doing things that could break it and cause us to have to spend a fortune on the repair.
As the name suggests, the flywheel is linked to the inertia that the car carries. For those who still do not know what inertia is, we can define it as the movement that an object maintains by itself without any force acting on it. In the articles of the mechanical energy y kinetics We have been seeing that if an object moves in space, since there is no friction or gravity force, it will move with its inertia.
If we put the car in first gear and lift the clutch, we can move without pressing the accelerator or any other pedal as long as we are on the level. This movement that the car makes can move on its own until some other force stops it. Force such as friction with the ground, the slope or some obstacle.
A clearer example is the moment when we are riding a bus and it suddenly stops. At this moment all the passengers leaned forward since our body wanted to maintain the movement and speed that we had before the bus stopped.
Where it is found and types of flywheels
The flywheel is a steel sprocket found inside a car engine at the crankshaft end of the gearbox. The function of this steel wheel is to store the kinetic energy generated by the motor and send it to the wheels. This energy makes the car move without "jerking".
There are different flywheels, although, as in all areas, some are sold more than others due to their usefulness or knowledge about it. In this case, the single-mass or dual-mass flywheel is the most widely known. There are some types such as:
- Single mass flywheel. It is the best known around the world and it is called that because it is only one piece. Its shape is circular and toothed and acts as a link between the most important parts of a vehicle's engine.
- Dual-mass flywheel. This one is quite revolutionizing this world and, probably, it is the one that replaces the previous one so well known. And it is that being more complete it is more effective. They have two round elements and a spring element that helps with damping. Thanks to the springs there are vibrations that make the engine run more fluid when the gearbox is working. It is this part that absorbs the vibration to cushion the "impact" and prevent the car from jerking.
How does it work
The steering wheel works in a very simple way. The wheel that has a toothed shape is responsible for doing the work of receive all the kinetic energy sent by the motor and assimilates it to be able to transfer it to the wheels. This disc must be very hard and resistant if we want the wheels to always have that inertia that we mentioned above.
If this part is not in an engine or is faulty we would notice continuous vibrations and rattles. However, many times it can happen to us that we receive these oscillations and we notice that rattle in the engine, but then they disappear. If that rattle continues to appear, we will lose the quality of the driving and the car will start to deteriorate more and more.
Some of you will think that like a toothed steel wheel It can eliminate vibrations from a car to transfer that energy to the wheels. Well, the flywheel works thanks to two masses. One of them begins to rotate in favor of the engine, while the other does so in line with the transmission. The dampers are attached to these masses so that there can be oscillation at a greater range angle. At that moment the vibrations are redirected in power to the wheels or totally eliminated.
Another function that the flywheel has is to support the vehicle starting. For cars with electric start, the flywheel has the function of starting the crankshaft and giving power to the expansion cycles to start the engine. If a vehicle's starter motor did not have the flywheel, it would probably wear out very soon and would need to be replaced every few months.
Homemade flywheel
If you want to make a homemade flywheel for a project, you can make a wooden one. A log is sought and a hole is made in the center. The more the flywheel weighs, the more energy it can store. If the hole in the center of the log has cracks, do not use it, since it could break and hurt you a lot.
Next we go through the hole with a stick and make another hole in the stick at the top. With a piece of wood we introduce it and make two side holes of the piece of wood. To finish, with two side holes in the piece of wood we can pass a thin rope that is tied to the upper part of the stick and to the lower part of the trunk.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the flywheel.