Composite Ring-Disk Flywheel Design, Fabrication, and Testing

摘要

A total of 19 rotors were fabricated, 14 of which were hybrid rotors having a nominal energy storage of 250 wh at maximum speed. The other five rotors produced were simple laminated disks intended for obtaining biaxial strength evaluation under spin conditions. The prototype hybrid rotors were designed in accordance with available material design data. Later the design was optimized by selecting a desirable ring/disk interference fit that reflected additional design data. These were inferred through study of previous hybrid rotor spin results. A simple laminated disk and a hybrid prototype successfully passed a 10,000 cycle endurance test. Rotors were also spin tested to destruction, demonstrating excellent ultimate energy densities. Ultrasonic tests were performed on a number of rotors. A design study of hybrid rotors employing graphite fiber/flexible urethane composite rings showed that energy densities approaching 40 wh/lb ultimate and 28 wh/lb, 10 exp 5 cycle operational are possible. (ERA citation 09:009946)