The Flywheel Storage System utilizes a Circular Pipe Raceway to house the suspended hexagonal stator. This architecture provides high structural integrity and exceptional vibration isolation.
| Item |
Description |
Purpose |
| Containment Pipe |
200mm Diameter Steel/Acrylic Pipe |
The outer vacuum-sealed raceway. |
| Acrylic Observation Spans |
Clear 20mm Acrylic pipe sections |
For visual monitoring of the high-speed ring. |
| Pipe Couplings |
ISO-K or KF-250 Flanges |
Seals the circular path segments together. |
| Suspension Wires |
1/16" (1.5mm) 304 Stainless Cable |
Floating mount for the stator modules. |
| Internal Tensioners |
Miniature Turnbuckles |
Adjusts the centering of the stator. |
| Vacuum Feedthroughs |
High-current Copper Flanges |
Electrical and thermal conduit passage. |
The containment is a 1.6m diameter circular track (4.7m loop) made of six 60-degree curved pipe segments.
- Pipe Wall: 10mm steel (or 20mm acrylic) to withstand full atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi).
- Surface Area: Over 2.2 square meters, supporting approximately 23 tons of total atmospheric load.
- Sealing: Each segment joint is sealed with a Viton O-ring within precision-machined flanges.
This system "floats" the stator within the vacuum, isolating it from external vibration.
- Mounting Points: Three mounting points are welded to the internal wall of the pipe at 120-degree intervals.
- The Floating Stator: Each 400mm stator module is suspended by stainless steel tensioned wires connected to these points.
- Tensioning: Miniature turnbuckles allow for the precise centering of each stator segment within the pipe to within +/- 0.1mm.
- Acoustic Damping: By floating the stator on wires, high-speed vibrational noise is not transmitted directly to the containment wall.
- Modular Separation: Each stator module is independent.
- Expansion Gaps: 2mm gaps between stator segments allow the copper components to expand longitudinally as they heat up during operation.
- Thermal Barrier: The suspension wires minimize conductive heat transfer from the hot stator to the outer vacuum pipe, maintaining safe surface temperatures.
- Roughing Phase: The 1.6m loop is evacuated to 10−3 Torr using a two-stage rotary pump.
- Leak Detection: Use a spray of isopropyl alcohol around the seals while under vacuum. Fluctuations in pump sound or pressure gauge indicate a leak.
- Safety Verification: If acrylic sections are used, they must be rated for full vacuum and inspected for crazing after every run.
- Containment Trench: The entire loop must be installed in a sub-grade concrete trench to ensure personnel safety in the event of a catastrophic ring failure.