Design and Experimental Evaluation of a High Energy Density Elastomeric Strain Energy Accumulator

Abstract

DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF A HIGH ENERGY DENSITY ELASTOMERIC STRAIN ENERGY ACCUMULATOR By John Michael Tucker Thesis under the direction of Professor Eric J. Barth This project entails the design and demonstration of a hydraulic accumulator which utilizes the deformation of an elastomeric material in order to capture and store energy in the form of strain energy. The primary application presented in this thesis is regenerative braking in hybrid vehicles. Motivations are presented for the choice of strain as the energy storage domain, and several candidate elastomers are evaluated for their strain energy density and efficiency. The potential for compactness in a strain energy accumulator is examined and demonstrated experimentally, and several accumulator designs as well as design metrics are proposed and discussed. Prototypes for two of these designs are presented and evaluated based on the proposed design metrics. Finally, this thesis includes direction and considerations for future work on strain energy accumulator design and development. Approved:Eric J. Barth Date:4/5/2012