Kinetic Energy Recovery System

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Mechanical KERS

Kinetic Energy Recovery System ( KERS , English for system for the recovery of kinetic energy ) is a mostly electrical system for braking energy recovery , which was released for use in Formula 1 from 2009 to 2013 and was replaced by ERS in 2014 .

With energy recovery - recuperation is also used in vehicle construction - and hybrid drives , the racing cars should get a more environmentally friendly image, according to the FIA and the automobile manufacturers. KERS is used in an electrical, an electromechanical and a mechanical version.

Variations

Electric KERS

The preferred variant in Formula 1 is a generator which , when braking, converts kinetic energy into electrical energy instead of thermal energy and stores it in accumulators or supercapacitors . With the all-electric KERS, the supplier Magneti Marelli achieves an efficiency of 95 to 97 percent with a weight of 4 kg for the generator unit. The control unit, which works at a voltage of 500  volts and a current of 1000  amperes , is water-cooled together with the generator, which reaches speeds of up to 40,000 / min. The amount of energy that can be stored was limited to 300 kilojoules from 2009 to 2013 and the amount of energy that could be used in one round was limited to 400 kilojoules. From the 2014 season , the amount of energy that can be stored by the Motor-Generator-Unit-Kinetic in the Energy Recovery System has been increased to 2 megajoules .

Since the beginning of the 2009 season of the television broadcasts of the races, the use of the battery has been displayed in the cockpit graphics of vehicles equipped with KERS in addition to speed and gear.

Electromechanical KERS

The Dynastore system is a combination of electrical and mechanical KERS , in which the generator itself serves as a mechanical storage device (flywheel). The energy is supplied and removed electrically. This variant was offered by Williams Hybrid Power (WHP) for Formula 1 in 2009. The Dynastore system had a recuperation efficiency of 79 to 87 percent and weighed 18 kg. This technology was first used in racing by Porsche in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid , which complies with the FIA ​​GT3 regulations. Porsche uses the KERS from Williams Hybrid Power, a subsidiary of the Williams Formula 1 team of the same name .

Mechanical KERS

KERS flywheel

In the mechanical version of the KERS, a flywheel system rotating at up to 60,000 rpm is accelerated by the braking process in a vacuum cylinder and this can transfer the stored energy back to the drive axle via a continuously variable transmission at a later point in time. This method was offered by Flybrid Automotive Limited for Formula 1 in 2009 , but was not used. A rotating drum took up the braking energy mechanically and gave it off again mechanically; the efficiency of the 25 kg system was 70 percent. The same working principle was already used in the gyrobus in the 1950s .

History in Formula 1

The first developments for energy recovery in Formula 1 took place in 1996; For safety reasons, however, according to Max Mosley, the technology was not approved.

  • In 1998, KERS was first used in Formula 1 as a design feature of the McLaren MP4 / 13 . Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard achieved a superior double victory at the Australian Grand Prix . The (presumably) hydraulic KERS of the MP4 / 13 (similar to the Rexroth system ) loads an accumulator when braking via a piston, the energy of which is released again via the axial piston when required. After this race, the system was banned.
  • In 2009 the FIA discussed the official introduction of the system and it was finally planned for the 2009 season. Each team was able to develop its own KERS technology and install it in the cars. Due to the reduced budget of the teams and the weight increase and shift in the center of gravity of the cars resulting from the installation, KERS was only used by four teams: McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW Sauber F1 and Renault. After only a few unsuccessful missions, BMW and Renault decided not to use a KERS as the season progressed, as the disadvantages in terms of possible lap times, such as an unfavorable weight distribution and increased cooling requirements, outweighed the advantages of the additional power.
  • In 2010, in the 2010 Formula 1 season , one year after the system was introduced, KERS was still allowed under the statutes. However, the teams united in FOTA had committed themselves in an internal agreement not to use KERS any more, which was then followed.
  • 2011: For the 2011 season the official FIA statutes were valid again, so that KERS could be used by the teams. The time gained per lap was between 0.3 and 0.4 seconds, depending on the course. KERS was used by all teams this season, with the exception of Lotus Racing , the HRT F1 Team and Virgin Racing . Red Bull Racing only waived its use in qualifying and races at the start of the season in Australia for reasons of reliability.
  • 2012: While the Caterham F1 Team (successor to Team Lotus) used a KERS from Red Bull in the 2012 season , HRT and Marussia (successor to Virgin) continued to refrain from using it.
  • 2013: In the 2013 Formula 1 season , all eleven teams used KERS.
  • 2014: Completely newly developed V6 turbo engines have been used since the 2014 season. At the same time, the energy recovery system is no longer restricted to recovering kinetic energy, and the system has been renamed ERS accordingly . The system's output has been doubled to 120  kW (163  hp ) and can be called up for 33.3 seconds instead of 6.7.

Use outside of Formula 1

Electromechanical KERS

A Porsche 997 GT3 R Hybrid with mechanical KERS made its racing debut at the VLN endurance championship Nürburgring on March 27, 2010 . At the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring , the team retired after being in the lead after 22 hours with a technical defect. The oil pump for the dry sump lubrication of the engine failed, which led to major engine damage. The Porsche 997 GT3 R Hybrid uses a hybrid system (KERS) from Williams Hybrid Power (WHP), a subsidiary of the Formula 1 team of the same name.

An Audi R18 e-tron quattro equipped with an electro-mechanical KERS became the first hybrid vehicle to win the Le Mans 24-hour race .

Electric KERS

In 2012, the N.technology P 4/5 Competizione entered the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring with an electric KERS developed by Magneti Marelli and based on the system used by the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams in Formula 1 and took 12th place. Also in 2012, Toyota competed for the first time in the Le Mans 24-hour race with the Toyota TS030 Hybrid .

WEC

In the World Endurance Championship , KERS systems have been mandatory for LMP1 works assignments since the 2014 season. One or two electric motors can be distributed anywhere over the drive train. The choice of energy storage is also completely free.

criticism

After a mechanic from the BMW-Sauber team received a strong electric shock from the vehicle during test drives in July 2008 , safety concerns about KERS were voiced. After errors in the KERS control unit, the racing cars could show high voltages on the outer skin. The successor system for the 2014 season was limited to an electrical voltage of 1000 volts. To ensure better protection, special gloves and shoes for drivers, mechanics and marshals were introduced.

The lithium-ion batteries, which are highly stressed during short-term intermediate energy storage and can cause fires, pose a potential danger.

KERS was also criticized because of its high costs. As a result of the high costs, only four teams ultimately used the system in the 2009 season, and in 2010 all teams did not use it. It was not until 2013 that all the teams in the KERS field started.

See also

literature

  • Michael Trzesniowski: racing car technology . 2nd Edition. Vieweg + Teubner, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8348-0857-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Formula for success - Kers and DRS , bbc.com of November 26, 2012; Accessed February 22, 2019
  2. ↑ Formula 1 environmental program - FOTA paints itself green , cars, motors and sports from June 30, 2010; Accessed February 22, 2019
  3. ↑ 2011 FORMULA ONE TECHNICAL REGULATION , page 20, Article 5.2, PDF file (2.6 MB), accessed September 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ a b c Trzesniowski: Rennwagentechnik , p. 738
  5. ↑ Uli: DYNASTORE flywheel storage device | Mechanical storage | Energy storage. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 3, 2017 ; accessed on September 3, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b Porsche: Hybrid GT car with Williams technology. Retrieved July 5, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Flybrid. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 3, 2016 ; Retrieved September 3, 2017 (American English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.flybridsystems.com
  8. ↑ motorsport-total.com: Will KERS return to Formula 1 in 2011? , July 28, 2009
  9. ↑ "Decided: KERS, rear wing, minimum weight" (Motorsport-Total.com on June 13, 2010)
  10. ↑ derwesten.de: Formula 1 racing cars accelerate even faster with "KERS" , March 19, 2012
  11. ↑ Team Lotus also uses Red Bulls KERS from 2012 . Small newspaper. September 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  12. ^ Official result of the 57th ADAC Westfalenfahrt. (PDF; 141 kB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 27, 2011 ; Retrieved July 5, 2010 .
  13. ↑ Audi victory in Le Mans: Triumph of the hybrid cars. www.spiegel.de, June 17, 2012, accessed on June 18, 2012 .
  14. ↑ Exclusive: P4 / 5 Competizione comes with KERS. www.Motorsport-Total.com, January 15, 2012, accessed June 15, 2012 .
  15. ↑ electric-vehiclenews.com Toyota Hybrid Racing - Supercapacitor System Explained (accessed January 2, 2014)
  16. ↑ a b sport.de: KERS: Curse or blessing? ( Memento from March 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  17. ↑ FIA Technical Regulations 2014, Art. 5.12.5
  18. ^ A b Formula One's KERS Is Not Without Problems , NY Times, April 25, 2009; Accessed February 25, 2019
  19. ↑ KERS: The $ 100 Million Flop , motorsport-total.com of July 22, 2009; Accessed February 25, 2019