The Stored Energy Technology (S.E.T.) Wheel-Motor is a permanent magnet  synchronous motor  built  inside the driving wheel of a rail vehicle. The outer part of the motor, consisting of the magnet ring and a resiliently mounted tyre rotates on a pair of sealed bearings around the stator fixed on a stub shaft. The Wheel-Motor obviates the need for gearboxes, driveshafts and separate motors hung within the bogie and, having no axle between pairs of wheels, simplifies the design of accessible low-floor vehicles. It saves weight, maintenance and cost, and with its impressive intrinsic efficiency (97%) and lower peak current demands, returns more  km per kWh than  can  be achieved  with  either normal DC motors or AC motors.

Wheel-Motors are equally efficient in regeneration during braking  given the energy losses inherent in the system.  Energy  storage on  board  the vehicle is  more beneficial  than with less efficient drive systems.

With the integration of S.E.T.’s Wheel-Motor and control system into a functional traction system,  we offer  substantial  vehicle  energy and weight savings with further reductions possible in infrastructure costs on a light rail and tram system.

The independently driven Wheel-Motors are driven at relative speeds appropriate to the track curvature, thus the inner wheels on a curve rotate slower than the outer wheels, thereby reducing contact patch creep and slip and flanging forces. This reduces wear on both the wheel tyre and the track.

 Four Wheel-Motors and the S.E.T. control system have been fitted in a converted tram, which was test run on the  Blackpool  tramway  in  early 2009.  The  tram covered more than 2000km and showed significant energy savings compared to traditional trams.

Read More......