A gyroscopic roll stabilizer for a boat includes an enclosure mounted to a gimbal for rotation about a gimbal axis and configured to maintain a below-ambient pressure, and a flywheel assembly including a flywheel and flywheel shaft, with the flywheel assembly rotatably mounted inside the enclosure for rotation about a flywheel axis. The gyroscopic roll stabilizer also includes a motor operative to rotate the flywheel assembly and disposed inside the enclosure. A motor cooling circuit is configured to transfer heat away from the motor. The motor cooling circuit has a closed fluid pathway for recirculating cooling fluid therein. The fluid pathway includes a fluid channel jointly defined by the motor and the enclosure and having the cooling fluid therein. The gyroscopic roll stabilizer is configured to transfer heat away from the motor to the cooling fluid. Related methods are also disclosed.

A gyroscopic roll stabilizer includes an enclosure, a flywheel assembly, and a motor. The enclosure is mounted to a gimbal for rotation about a gimbal axis and configured to maintain a below-ambient pressure. The flywheel assembly is rotatably mounted inside the enclosure for rotation about a flywheel axis. The flywheel assembly includes a flywheel and flywheel shaft. The flywheel shaft has a first end and an opposite second end; a first cavity formed in the first end and facing away from the second end; and a second cavity formed in the second end and facing away from the first end. The flywheel shaft has a longitudinal passage connecting the first cavity and the second cavity. This longitudinal passage may be used for inspection of one of the cavities and/or an associated seal, from the direction of the other cavity. Related methods are also disclosed.

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 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. For smaller units, the bearing cooling system is effective to enable a flywheel with a moment of inertia less than 40,000 lb in.sup.2 to be accelerated at a rate of 5 rpm/s or greater. For larger units, the bearing cooling system is effective to enable a flywheel with a moment of inertia greater than 40,000 lb in.sup.2 to be accelerated at a rate of 2.5 rpm/s or greater.

A power flywheel motor is generally disclosed. In use, a flywheel assembly includes at least one motor-generator and a housing adapted to receive the flywheel assembly. The flywheel assembly is rotatable in the housing about a central axis. The motor-generator is configured to convert between electrical energy and kinetic energy associated with a rotation of the flywheel assembly.

A variable mass flywheel arrangement comprising a shaft with a flywheel fixedly connected thereto. The flywheel comprises a cavity with at least one inlet thereto. The inlet into the cavity is in fluid communication with a source of particulate matter and the particulate matter is able to pass into the cavity of the flywheel via the inlet.

A power flywheel motor is generally disclosed. In use, a flywheel assembly includes at least one motor-generator and a housing adapted to receive the flywheel assembly. The flywheel assembly is rotatable in the housing about a central axis. The motor-generator is configured to convert between electrical energy and kinetic energy associated with a rotation of the flywheel assembly.

Vehicle input shafts are disclosed. The vehicle input shafts include a bearing boss, a spline portion, a cylindrical shaft body portion and a drive end. The spline portion includes spline teeth and spline grooves that do not exit directly onto the shaft body. Instead, the spline grooves include blend out fillets that interrupt the spline grooves by providing additional material near the shaft body. The bearing boss includes an increased diameter at a central point along its axial length and decreased diameters at its first and second boss ends.

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 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.