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I'm currently in the works of developing a vertically suspended flywheel, and I'm trying to figure out the best method to convert rotational energy to electrical energy and vice versa. I don't want to just slap on a regular AC motor/generator for several reasons: it would probably be bulky, and interior bearings would introduce more frictional losses to the system.

I came up with this idea (image below) where a magnet is suspended inside a larger coil. As AC current is passed through the coil, the magnet will spin to align itself with the new pole orientation. Conversely, the spinning magnet would induce AC current through the coil. Just as a note, I will definitely be increasing the number of loops and choosing a magnet with a high flux density.

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Would a system like this work, and more importantly does it have the potential to reach high efficiency, hopefully comparable to a standard motor/generator?

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  • $\begingroup$ The only area where there will be any generated voltage is where the magnet is located. All of the other coils will do nothing, no matter how many you have. Air is a terrible conductor for magnetic flux, so no matter how strong the magnet is, it will not have much inpact. You are governed by basic Faraday's Law (V = N B ℓ ʋ), N is number of turns magnetic field crosses, B flux density, ℓ length of coils and ʋ is angular velocity. If you spin it very fast, it may make a very small voltage. Realistic efficiency would be 0%. $\endgroup$
    – StainlessSteelRat
    Commented Apr 23 at 21:46

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I'm not great with the theory of electromagnetism but the one principle that I do understand is that air gaps are the application killer. Have a look at any electromagnetic circuit and you will see that the designers have gone to great lengths to keep airgaps to a minimum and designed so that the magnetic flux has a closed-loop ferrous path.

Your design has none of these features and its efficiency would be appalling. Your design and description suggests that you haven't considered the torque requirements on the shaft and how you would support it. (Did someone mention interior bearings?)

If it were that easy it would be done already.

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  • $\begingroup$ I would add the components of regular generation it is missing: namely frequency and voltage control, plus most power for use outside the home needs to be 3 phase. $\endgroup$
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Apr 23 at 17:54

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