Hydroburst Test Methodology for Evaluation of Composite Structures

摘要

The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM) is under contract to develop high-speed composite flywheel systems for a number of energy and power averaging applications in the transportation and space industries. Safe and reliable design of composite flywheels requires well-characterized material properties. Efforts have been focused on design optimization of a hydroburst test technique that demonstrates a useful method for characterizing the hoop (circumferential) properties of filament wound composite rings, and those results are then available to predict the performance of full-scale flywheels. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, this paper discusses typical hydroburst techniques to determine material properties for filament-wound composite rings. Test results are also presented. Seal design is a key element of this fixture, and a design has evolved that provides nearly uniform radial loading on the inside surface of the composite ring, while minimizing axial bending. Correlations of tow strand data with hydroburst lamina data are presented. Also discussed are hydroburst test applications for flaw assessment and fatigue property evaluation.