Materials Selection in Electromagnetic Launcher Design

Center for Electromechanic

Design of Pressure Vessel Cascades for Electromagnetic Launcher

The relatively recent development of very high energy density pulsed power supplies has motivated a renewed interest in the structural design of electromagnetic launchers. Cascade design electromagnetic launcher pressure vessels offer convenient maintenance access to high wear rate components of the structure while satisfying an unusual combination of electromagnetic, strength, and preloading constraints imposed on the system designer. Analysis for design of such structures focuses on the accurate characterization of fluid-structure interaction under dynamic asymmetric loading.Center for Electromechanic

Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Glass and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites

The material properties of S-2 glass-epoxy, IM6 graphite-epoxy, and hybrid glasscarbon epoxy composites have been studied to determine their suitability for composite rotor fabrication. For both the S-2 and IM6 materials, tension specimens in the form of longitudinal and transverse coupons and torsion specimens in the form of hoop wrapped and axial wrapped tubes were fabricated and tested to determine mechanical and electrical properties. Volume fractions for the samples were analyzed using electron microscopy and analysis by digestion. The results of the mechanical experiments were compared to rule of mixtures and Halpin-Tsai correlations for composite material properties as well as to torsion test results for a hybrid glass-carbon fiber reinforced tube.Center for Electromechanic