Cooling

The cooling circuit is a closed loop that supplies a glycol/water (50% distilled water and 50% glycol) mix to:

  • The motor drive box to remove heat from the drive electronics
  • The brake manifold to remove heat from the brake hydraulic circuit
  • The enclosure water jackets to remove heat from the flywheel bearings

The heated fluid then passes through a thermostat before bypassing or flowing through a heat exchanger that has seawater on the cold side. The circuit also contains a coolant reservoir for coolant expansion and to make filling easy. The reservoir contains a 7 psi (0.5 bar) pressure cap. The heat exchanger contains zinc anodes that must be inspected and changed regularly to ensure maximum heat exchanger life.

Figure 7 – Cooling System Components