Coursework - KERS System

[alelanza]

At least i know that the drivers had a dial to determine how much energy to harvest, so i think how much energy is absorbed is driver controlled.

You could be right alelanza,
To me it sounds like a way to change/fine tune the brake balance, by changing the amount of KERS contribution to rear wheel braking

What to you think? It´s possible?

Oh yeah I think that's entirely possible, so i agree with you that in terms of balancing it could help. It probably can deliver a more controlled stopping power than what they already get from engine braking (which is driver controlled as well).
I guess the problem becomes, if you are restricted to a set amount of energy that you can release per lap, you would probably fill the 480 Kj real quick and chances are your battery won't be larger/heavier than it needs to be. I'm not sure if beyond that point it still makes sense to figure out alternative ways to dispose of that energy, especially given that brake bias can do most of the job on its own and it's a simpler mechanism. Just my 2c.

[autogyro]

To get rid of excess energy is easy, you just use it instead of and before you use ic engine power.
Filling the energy storage of 480Kj can be rapid if the circuit has a convenient number of hard braking zones and the car is being worked to the max.
It might not be so rapid if the car is being 'cruised' to save fuel or on a lap behind much slower cars.
It all depends on how the energy storage is designed to work with the braking and the rest of the car. There is a range of options to choose from.
If KERS harvesting is unlimited, the trick would be to make sure the car did not enter a hard brakeing zone with more energy in store than the brakeing can harvest. That way the maximum harvesting of energy can be achieved for the whole race and fuel weight reduced accordingly.
This method does tend to negate the idea of balancing KERS braking with conventional brakeing however, so the figures would need to be looked at to choose the best trade off.