List;
Another data point in the light/heavy flywheel discussion-- Ford found that
the moment of inertia of their engine flywheel was limiting their GT 40 Mark
II acceleration. Going to a lighter flywheel allowed more of the engine's
torque to be applied to accelerating the car. This was a fairly light car
with lots of power; most sprint cars use a 7" or smaller triple- plate
clutch and a very light flywheel for the same reason.
Heavy flywheels are useful for storing energy. This gives a powerful launch
off the line in drag racing but it's useful mainly for heavy cars with lots
of traction.
For aircraft applications, no flywheel is needed-- a propeller is a
"flexible load" and off- idle torque isn't required like it is in a car or
truck. The Wright Brothers had a pretty severe problem what with the
vibration of their 4-cyl engine and their very long chain drive to the
propellers.
I'd suggest using your Scheiffer aluminum one. It's a good, light flywheel.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: ardunbill@webtv.net [mailto:ardunbill@webtv.net]
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 6:22 AM
To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Ardun Blown Gas Roadster: Best Flywheel Weight for Maxton
Hi Folks, further to this discussion, Dr. Mayfield has rightly pointed
out that a rotating crankshaft assembly would not have the same flywheel
effect as a flywheel of equal weight, because the diameter of the crank
parts is less. The relatively large diameter of the typical flywheel
gives it much of its effect. I recall that the early Ford Flathead V8
car flywheel for the 9" clutch had a thick heavy flange cast on its
outer diameter, which must have increased its flywheel effect (this item
weighed 39+ lbs), besides tending to shield the clutch from the oil that
commonly seeped from the rear main seal! I recall also that the Wright
Bros. made a large diameter flywheel for their first home-built
4-cylinder aircraft engine, even though they were EXTREMELY
weight-conscious with this first successful powered aircraft, to get the
power delivery smooth enough to allow the long chain-drives to the props
to work without shaking the drives or the props to pieces. Bill
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