Structural capacitors and components thereof
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorsDaniel J. O'Brien, Eric D. Wetzel
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Abstract
A structural capacitor includes at least one pair of electrodes comprising a positive electrode and a negative electrode, with a body of dielectric material disposed therebetween. The combination of the electrodes and dielectric has a stiffness which can be between 10 1000 GPa, and in some instances between 50 MPa-100 GPa. Failure strength of the combination can be between 1 MPa-10 GPa, and in specific instances between 10 MPa-1 GPa. The capacitor may include a plurality of electrode pairs. The dielectric may include a reinforcing material therein, and the capacitors may be configured in a variety of shapes so as to function as structural elements for articles of construction.
Claims22
A device that comprises a high-strength structural capacitor that operates to store and release large amounts of electrical energy and that functions as a structural element in the device into which the high-strength structural capacitor is incorporated
- said high-strength structural capacitor comprising at least one pair of electrodes, said pair of electrodes comprising a positive electrode and a negative electrode;
- and a body of dielectric material disposed between said electrodes wherein the body of dielectric material accounts for a majority of the mass of the structural element or a majority of the volume of the structural element;
- wherein the combination consisting of said electrodes and said body of dielectric material has a stiffness of at least 10 MPa in a tension loading mode, in a compression loading mode, in a shear loading mode, in a bending loading mode and in a torsion loading mode
- further wherein said high-strength structural capacitor stores and releases energy at an energy density of at least about 0.1 J/cc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.