Composite flywheels for energy storage have been proposed and investigated for the past several decades. Successful applications are, however, limited due to the inability to predict the performance, especially the long- term durability. In this investigation, a comprehensive study was proposed with the intent to implement composites in high-performance flywheels. The potential failure mechanism of flywheels constructed with fiber composites was evaluated. Analytical codes for predicting elastic and viscoelastic (long-term) ...
The analysis and design of structures composed of advanced composites is complicated by the anisotropic, heterogeneous nature of these laminated materials. Current state-of-the-art analysis (i.e., finite element methods) used to model thick composite structures employ a variety of different types of approaches. A three-dimensional modeling technique, which incorporates a "smearing-unsmearing" methodology has been developed by the U.S. Army to enable computationally efficient, accurate, failure assessment of thick composite structures. The ...
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