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How an MGU-K works (The meaning: MGU-K stands for Motor generation Unit -…
How an MGU-K works
The meaning:
MGU-K stands for Motor generation Unit - Kinetic
It transfers kinetic energy into another form in order to slow a car down. Instead of converting kinetic energy into heat energy, it converts it into electrical energy.
It works by electromagnetism in the motor.
Magnets have a North and a South Pole with the magnetic field lines traveling from North to South
It also has an electric current.
How it works
(simplified version)
The electric current and the magnetic field interact by the placement of a live wire through a magnetic field. Once the wire is in the magnetic field, the wire will move due to the interaction between the two.
The wire will move in a direction of right angles
to the direction
of current and to the direction of
the magnetic field.
(Where Fleming’s left hand rule comes into play)
By looping the wire back in on itself
allows the current to go in two directions,
away from the terminals and towards the terminals
This causes the loop to rotate in a clockwise motion
by the left side of the loop having motion
upwards and the right side of the loop having
motion downwards.
The problem with using direct current is that past 90 degrees, it will stop rotating as the motion of the wire is in the wrong direction respective to the direction
of current and the magnetic field
To mitigate this, F1 cars use an
alternating current
, in which
the direction of the current will switch at intermittent times (when the wire flips over) so the forces will keep acting in the same direction, causing a constant rotation of the wire in the magnetic field. This forms the basis of a motor as it converts electrical energy into constant kinetic energy.
The motors can be
made even more potent by:
Adding more loops of wire
Increasing the strength of the magnetic or the current
It can also be made more efficient
by adding more than one loop
at set angles to each other. You
By adding 3 more loops, it turns into a
three-phase motor generator unit.
This is the same system used in F1
This has the magnets rotating on the inside while the wires don’t move in and stay in the same place. Depending on what pole is facing it, it will either have alternating or direct current
North facing wires: Alternating Current
South facing wires: Direct Current
It is part of a much wider system that contains the batteries (energy store)
And the rear wheels,
The battery feeds electrical energy to the MGU-K, adding power to the crankshaft by the rotating kinetic energy. This feeds the energy through the transmission to the rear wheels. This is done by acceleration
The reverse of this process
is what leads up to the generator part of the MGU-K. As the
driver removes his foot off the throttle, the back wheels will spin,
These spin with a lot of rotational energy which
allows for the rotation of the rotor of the MGU-K
This allows Fleming’s left hand rule to work in two ways.
the motion spins in the same way as it did working as a
motor. This allows it to generate current in the wire.
This
utilizes Fleming’s Right Hand rule.
The overcoming of the rotation in the opposite direction as previously shown earlier (in how it provides rotational force to the wheels) is what generates the electrical energy in MGU-K’s
The spin of the rear wheels is being resisted by the electromagnetic forces that goes on in the MGU-K. As the kinetic energy in the wheels decrease, the Electrical energy increases.
The misconception:
“The MGU-K does not capture heat energy from the brakes”