Flywheel Energy Storage Systems for Ride-through Applications in a Facility Microgrid

Abstract

Flywheel energy storage (FES) has attracted new interest for uninterruptable power supply (UPS) applications in a facility microgrid. Due to technological advancements, the FES has become a promising alternative to traditional battery storage technologies. This paper aims at developing a tool to demonstrate the use of FES units for securing critical loads during a utility outage in a microgrid environment. The FES is modeled, simulated and evaluated in the MATLAB/SIMULINK® environment. A data center is used to represent a facility microgrid case study. It illustrates how an FES can help improve the load serving capability and provide a highly reliable ride-through capability for critical loads during a utility disturbance. In comparison with batteries, the application of FES for power security is new on the horizon. This limits the availability of experimental data. The simulation model presented in this paper will enable the analysis of short-term ride-through applications of FES during an islanded operation of a facility microgrid. As a result, it can provide a guideline for facility engineers in a data center or other types of facility microgrids to better design their backup power systems based on FES technology, which can be used in combination with traditional fuel-based generators.Index Terms-Data centers, energy storage, flywheel, islanded operation, microgrid. NOMENCLATUREEnergy of flywheel (kW-s).Stored energy in flywheel (kW-s).Power of flywheel (kW). Rotating mass (kg).Linear speed (m/s). Angular speed (rad/s).Maximum angular speed (rad/s). Radius of flywheel(m).Polar moment of inertia (kg.m ).Density of rotating mass (kg/m ).Length of flywheel (m).Torque conversion factor.Efficiency of flywheel.

A review of protection systems for distribution networks embedded with renewable generation

“…The authors of [24] propose the inclusion of a flywheel system to complement inverter-interfaced EG in order to supply a significant current when a fault occurs in an islanded microgrid. Flywheel systems are very useful in applications containing critical load, especially when coupled with dispatchable power such as diesel generators [25]. However, flywheels are expensive and require a sophisticated control scheme for coordination with EG in a microgrid.…”

Estratégia para Controle do Fluxo de Potência em uma Microrrede Híbrida Destinada a Alimentação de Cargas Cc Críticas

“…Microrredes compostas por fontes de distintas naturezas vêm se tornando cada vez mais usuais, sendo aplicadas como forma de garantir a diversificação de geração e o abastecimento ininterrupto de energia [1]- [3]. Na literatura, diversos autores destacam a combinação entre geração solar fotovoltaica (PV) e eólica (WT) como sendo uma boa opção para aumento da autonomia, pois tais fontes apresentam características de geração complementares [4], [5].…”

Hybrid Energy Storage Implementation in DC and AC Power System for Efficiency, Power Quality and Reliability Improvements

“…Moreover, the flywheel energy storage can be utilized in a hybrid configuration with another electric energy storage system such as batteries or fuel cells. Examples include aircraft powertrains and shipboard power systems where the systems require very high power for short periods of time in order of a few seconds and even milliseconds [10]- [15].…”

“…This is required to retain the sodium and the sulphur molten and also to keep the conductivity of the electrolyte. This constraint brings several challenges, such as extra energy consumption, thermal management and safety issues [15], [29]- [32].…”

“…In order to bypass the excess power and maintain the voltage of the DC link, rapid response energy storage devices, such as flywheel and supercapacitor, are utilized. This also enables the power plant to ride through the fault uninterrupted and support the grid by injecting reactive power [14], [15], [85]- [87].…”