A NONLINEAR, HIGH ENERGY DENSITY DIELECTRIC MATERIAL SYSTEM FOR DISCHARGE CAPACITORS

CURRENT CAPACITOR SYSTEMS ARE MATERIALS LIMITED. CURRENT MATERIALS HAVE LOW ENERGY STORAGE DENSITIES AND ARE GENERALLY LARGER, HEAVY, AND DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN. A SYNTHETIC PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO "MOLECULARLY ENGINEER" AN ORGANIC/INORGANIC GRAFT COPLYMER MATERIAL TO HAVE HIGH, NONLINEAR DIELECTRIC STRENGTH; HIGH, NONLINER DIELECTRIC CONSTANT; AND LIGHT WEIGHT FOR USE AS IMPREGNANTS IN CAPACITORS AND DIELECTRIC FILMS. THE SYNTHETIC PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED BY CONSIDERING MATERIAL GUIDELINES WHICH INCLUDE: 1) INTRINSIC DIELECTRIC STRENGTH, 2) DIELECTRIC CONSTANT, 3) LOW DISSIPATION FACTORS, 4) PROCESSABILITY, 5) USE IN A BROAD RANGE OF APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS, AND 6) MECHANICAL STRENGTH. THE NONLINEAR DIELECTRIC POLYMERS THAT ARE SYNTHESIZED AND WILL BE FABRICATED INTO A UNIQUE MORPHOLOGY THAT ENHANCES THEIR UTILITY. THE DIELECTRIC PROPOERTIES OF THIS NOVEL MATERIAL/MORPHOLOGY SYSTEM WILL BE EVALUATED ON A LABORATORY SCALE. DEVELOPMENT OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WOULD GREATLY REDUCE THE SIZE, WEIGHT, AND COMPLEXITY OF CAPACITORS. THE ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF PHASE I WILL BE MATERIALS CAPABLE OF ENERGY DENSITIES OF TENS OF KJ/KG, DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS GREATER THAN 10, LOW DISSIPATION FACTORS, AND CAPACITY OF IN THE MULTII-MEGAJOULE RANGE.