Kers how does it work

At the time of introduction, many road car manufacturers were beginning to offer hybrid cars which used a similar principle to harvest and reuse energy and so the concept of KERS was one that the public could quickly understand and appreciate. To the teams competing however, implementing KERS gave the drivers the opportunity of additional acceleration at the times where they need it most.

In fact, teams were so convinced of the advantage of KERS that many of the teams competing for the constructors title changed their cars mid-season to stay competitive in the title race. There are two main implementations of the KERS system and they differ in how the energy is stored. The electrical KERS uses an electromagnet to transfer the kinetic energy to electric potential energy that is eventually converted to chemical energy that is stored in a battery.

It then redelivers the stored energy to the drive train by powering a motor. The electric KERS was what many teams started off trying to implement into their cars. However, the battery used to store the energy is very prone to battery fires and can cause electric shocks. The mechanical implementation, shown in Fig. To harvest the energy upon braking, the system uses the braking energy to turn a flywheel which acts as the reservoir of this energy. KERS, also known as regenerative braking, is one of the most widely discussed topics in various engineering colleges and automobile companies and has great uses in other fields as well.

This clearly demonstrates that Formula 1 innovations can benefit mankind as a whole. New User posted their first comment. Log in. Formula 1 News. Modified 07 Oct News. There are two types of KERS system: 1. Functioning of Electrical System: The electrical system uses a Motor Generator which is present in the car to convert Mechanical energy to electrical energy.

When the KERS project began, the first priority was to study all possible energy store solutions. It was a tough call deciding between batteries and a pure mechanical flywheel, but the battery solution was more promising and offers the potential for adapting this technology for road cars over the next ten years.

What comes next? However, such translation devices normally weigh in the region of 50kg and require a lot of space: two things which Formula 1 teams go to great lengths to avoid.

It was therefore paramount that the MGU weighed as little as possible, which is where the involvement of Magneti Marelli came in and by working together we have been able to produce a compact, lightweight solution to meet our particular needs. Chose the latter and you get 80hp added instantly. Obviously, we tried the latter.

This transforms it into a very un-Volvo-ey Volvo. Less empirically, with KERS switched on, our mph time dropped from 7. And all this thrust comes from a little box of gears and clutches that weighs 60kg, requires virtually no maintenance, and will last for what the company claim is the realistic life of the car. Arriva is trialling the system on its buses, which are currently operating in Milton Keynes.