High Energy Density Capacitive Power Source for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems

There is an increasing need for energy storage devices with greater energy density capabilities. While major advances are being made in dielectric polymers in this regard, demands are outrunning improvements. Composite dielectrics have shown littlepromise with the ceramic phase having only a second order effect on dielectric constant but a negative first order effect on breakdown strength.TPL proposes a major advance in composite dielectrics through use of its 50 nm barium titanate particles and high performance siloxane dielectric polymer. To this will be added means of substantially increasing dielectric constant and mitigating breakdownstrength effects. An order of magnitude increase in energy density could result.In Phase I, films of modified BaTiO3/siloxane composite materials will be cast. Dielectric constant, breakdown strength, and loss tangent will be measured and compared with baseline materials. Evaluations of improvements will be made.TPL has one of the most comprehensive programs in advanced dielectric materials. As winner of the MILCAP Program, TPL's siloxane polymer is state-of-the-art. The Principal Investigator is a leader in composite dielectric materials. TPL will produce novel barium titanate/siloxane nanocomposites to explore the structure property relations of these materials. The properties of ordered nanocomposites have the potential to greatly exceed those of unordered composites. Nanocompositeswith enhanced properties will find use in high energy storage density capacitors and embedded capacitance applications for a variety of military applications. Potential commercial applications include lasers, pulsed lightning and defibrillators.