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GATE 2026 Exam Date Announced – Complete Schedule, Syllabus, and Key Details » GATE Study Materials » Mechanical Engineering » Flywheels and Governors
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Flywheels and Governors

Both the flywheel and the governors are mechanical appliances that administer especially the equivalent objective, that is, to regulate or operate speed instabilities other than the degree of consequence.

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The central discrepancy between the two is that the flywheel is continually when the engine is operating and operates continuously between cycles, while in the issue of a governor it moves intermittently, implying it merely operates when the engine is not trotting. It barely works when it is operating and runs at average speed. The purpose of the flywheel is to govern the velocity or speed instabilities during each cycle, while the purpose of the governor is to maintain the intermediate momentum of the engine at a constant pace throughout the process. The flywheel stocks rotational vitality, when the mechanical power furnished exceeds that compelled for the undertaking, and the governor modifies the fuel allowance according to several load circumstances. While both flywheel and governor are assumed to listen to a comparable objective, namely speed supervision, they perform very several things.

Flywheel

A flywheel is a huge and heavy swiveling wheel pertained to a rotating shaft that flattens the energy and power transfer of a reciprocating engine due to the discrepancy between the drive torque and the effective torque during the duty cycle. A flywheel is a mechanical appliance specially formulated to catalog energy in the process. The flywheel functions as a reservoir, which conveys that it replenishes power when the power or energy supply outperforms what is compelled to operate and discloses it when the allowance is slighter than what is required to operate. 

Simply put, flywheel stores additional rotational power for intermittent usage. The flywheel furnishes consecutive energy when the power reference is erratic. In a car engine, it reserves energy to assist the engine to obtain the stagnant spasm of the piston. When fastened to automatic communication, it is frequently pertained to as a flex plate.

Governors

A governor is furthermore a mechanical appliance that regulates the typical momentum of the engine as the load modifies. The Governor is practically a speed control appliance that quantities and governs the momentum or velocity of the machine regardless of load transitions. The governor maintains the engine momentum or speed within the established spectrum regardless of load modifications. 

When engine burden alters, the governor shifts the composition or configuration and restraints fuel supply consequently. Dissimilar to a flywheel, a governor can legislate speed but cannot cache and supply energy when required. Governor is utilized in most engine-driven applications such as tractors, lawnmowers, vehicles, etc. Governor conducts as an excursion control mechanism, maintaining the engine jogging at the specified speed threshold one chooses, regardless of load modifications.

List of Governor

There are three types in the list of governors. They are:

Pneumatic governor.

Hydraulic governor.

Mechanical or centrifugal governor.

Pneumatic governors are extensively successfully utilized in minor and moderate engines. They are prudent to modifications in torque burden and assure reliable idle supervision. As with the pneumatic air input control, the air supply at light burdens is throttled by a butterfly valve clambered in the choke coil.

Hydraulic governors eradicate elevated mechanical carriage burdens and apparent torsional tremors in the drive. Accordingly, they are further prominent than mechanical governors.

In a Mechanical or centrifugal governor, when the engine begins, the weight seizes a posture to conserve a reliable idle speed. When the pedal of the accelerator is pressed downward by the spring, the weight pushes inward, and because the weight is connected to the control lever, the proportion of fuel distributed boosts, and accordingly the engine momentum.

Types of Flywheels 

There are four types of flywheels. They are:

Rimmed flywheel

Low-velocity flywheel

Solid disc flywheel

High-velocity flywheel

The flywheel restrains the momentum or speed of the engine merely for one progression, while the governor restrains the momentum or speed for some moment. The flywheel cannot regulate the quantity of charge that is working fluid, and the governor is accountable for the percentage of the working fluid. A flywheel is not utilized in practically every primary mover, but a governor is an important component of an important mover as it diversifies the fuel allowance in acknowledgment to load modifications.

Conclusion

A flywheel is an automated appliance that conserves the security or speed of an engine by substituting cataloged energy, while a governor conserves the constant momentum of the engine by regulating the allowance of struggling fluid. The flywheel struggles when the engine power revolves occasionally, and the governor reaches in when the engine burden alternates.

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