A gyroscopic roll stabilizer comprises a gimbal having a support frame and enclosure configured to maintain a below-ambient pressure, a flywheel assembly including a flywheel and flywheel shaft, one or more bearings for rotatably mounting the flywheel inside the enclosure, a motor for rotating the flywheel, and bearing cooling system for cooling the bearings supporting the flywheel. The bearing cooling system enables heat generated by the bearings to be transferred through the flywheel shaft to a heat sink disposed within a cavity in the end of the flywheel shaft, or to a liquid coolant circulating within the cavity.

A bearing and flywheel system can include a first bearing portion having an opening of a first dimension there through and a central longitudinal axis, a second bearing portion having a second dimension, the second dimension being smaller than the first dimension, and a flywheel coupled to the second bearing portion. The bearing portions can include high-temperature superconductor(s) and/or magnets. The second bearing portion can be disposed at least partially within the opening through the first bearing portion. A gap can exist between an outer surface of the second bearing portion and an inner surface of the first bearing portion. The second bearing portion can be configured to rotate relative to the first bearing portion.

Apparatuses, systems and methods are described for a flywheel system incorporating a rotor made from a high-strength material in an open-core flywheel architecture with a high-temperature superconductive (HTS) bearing technology to achieve the desired high energy density in the flywheel energy storage devices, to obtain superior results and performance, and that eliminates the material growth-matching problem and obviates radial growth and bending mode issues that otherwise occur at various high frequencies and speeds.

A flywheel system includes a fixture including a bottom support, a rotor characterized by a gravitational load and configured to rotate above the bottom support about a rotation axis, and a bottom magnetic levitation bearing. The bottom magnetic levitation bearing includes (a) a ring of first magnets mechanically coupled with a bottom end of the rotor, (b) a ring of second magnets mechanically coupled to the bottom support, beneath the ring of first magnets, the second magnets repelling the first magnets to magnetically support at least a portion of the gravitational load above the bottom support, (c) a ring of third magnets mechanically coupled with the bottom end, and (d) a ring of fourth magnets mechanically coupled to the bottom support radially outwards from the ring of third magnets, the fourth magnets repelling the third magnets to at least reduce radial decentering of the rotor relative to the fixture.

Flywheel system properties are enhanced with rim designs that control stress at operational rotational velocities. The tensile strength of fiber-resin composites can be aligned with radial forces to improve radial stress loading. Loops with composite casings can be arranged around the flywheel circumference with a majority of the fibers being aligned in the radial direction. The loops can enclose masses that contribute to energy storage in the flywheel system. Masses can be arranged around the hub circumference with a hoop wound composite casing enclosing the masses and hub. The masses subjected to radial forces are radially displaced with increasing rotational velocity and can provide compressive force to the fiber-resin composite to contribute to maintaining composite integrity. With the alignment of fibers in hoop or radial directions, higher loading permits increase rotational velocities, which can significantly add to the amount of energy stored or produced with the flywheel.

Flywheel for energy storage, comprising a rotor, a housing enclosure, means for charging energy by transferring electric energy to stored kinetic energy in the rotating rotor and means for discharging energy by transferring stored kinetic energy in the rotating rotor to electric energy, distinctive in that the rotor is vertically oriented, the rotor has mass of over 5000 kg, the rotor comprises a central vertical shaft, a radial bearing is arranged to an upper end of the vertical shaft, an axial-radial hydraulic bearing, or separate axial and radial bearings, is arranged to a lower end of the vertical shaft.

Product transport structures are provided which include a self-stabilizing platform assembly configured to support a product on a deck of the self-stabilizing platform assembly and to stabilize the product during moving of the self-stabilizing platform assembly and product. The self-stabilizing platform assembly includes multiple torque-generating devices and a stability control system. The multiple torque-generating devices are controllable to produce a stabilization torque within the self-stabilizing platform assembly, and the stability control system is configured to control operation of the multiple torque-generating devices. The stability control system is configured to adjust operation of one or more torque-generating devices of the multiple devices to produce the stabilization torque to facilitate stabilizing the product during moving of the self-stabilizing platform assembly and product.

A flywheel arrangement comprising a shaft with a flywheel fixedly connected thereto. The flywheel comprises at least one cavity and that cavity is at least partially filled with particulate matter.

A flywheel device includes a base, a cantilever mounted on the base, a bearing seat mounted on the base, first magnetic members mounted on the base, a rotation shaft arranged between the cantilever and the bearing seat, a magnetically floating seat mounted on the rotation shaft, second magnetic members mounted on the magnetically floating seat and corresponding to the first magnetic members, third magnetic members mounted on the magnetically floating seat, a repulsion driver locked on the base and surrounding the magnetically floating seat, fourth magnetic members mounted on the repulsion driver and corresponding to the third magnetic members, and a flywheel unit mounted on the rotation shaft. The second magnetic members have a polarity the same as that of the first magnetic members. The fourth magnetic members have a polarity the same as that of the third magnetic members.

A flywheel system comprises a flywheel rotor comprising a rotor disc and a rotor shaft and has a longitudinal axis extending centrally through the rotor disc and the rotor shaft. The system further comprises a journal assembly configured to facilitate rotation of the flywheel rotor. The journal assembly comprises a sleeve having an aperture extending therethrough from a first end to a second, opposite end, a rod at least partially disposed within the aperture of the sleeve, and a nut coupled to a portion of the rod. The rod has a length greater than the sleeve such that a portion of the rod extends axially beyond the first end of the sleeve. A method of forming the flywheel comprises coupling the rod to the rotor shaft and pulling the second end of the rod to tension the rod. The nut maintains the tension in the rod when coupled thereto.