Fatigue Analysis of a Steel Energy Storage Flywheel Rotor Under Variable Loading Condition

The implementation of renewable energy systems is challenged by the intermittent nature of their energy outputs. There is a need to bridge the gap between energy supply and demand to mitigate the energy crisis while promoting sustainable energy sourcing. Flywheel energy storage systems offer an environmentally friendly solution to this problem. However, higher initial costs hinder its wider implementation. Optimizing its design for the maximum benefit-to-cost ratio is currently an active area of research. In this work, the fatigue response of a proposed optimized energy storage flywheel rotor design from the literature was evaluated to assess its viability in real-life applications. The rotor design was subjected to grid-representative loading to calculate the fatigue life and determine the maximum allowable operating speed.