Sandwich structures are common in aircraft, combining high stiffness, light weight, and structural strength. Could such a structure be useful in enhancing energy storage? Pennsylvania State University researchers think they’ve answered that question in a positive way. Sandwich-like Structures as Energy Storage Materials The blog has examined the possibilities inherent in incorporating batteries and supercapacitors into structures, but making the battery itself a sandwich structure could leave it as a discrete component within an electric vehicle, or lead to its being adapted as a full structural element. Penn State University materials scientists have achieved the goal of making a “polymer dielectric material with high energy density, high power density and excellent charge-discharge efficiency for electric and hybrid vehicle use.” Their battery resembles the sandwich construction of modern aircraft shells ranging from ultralight sailplanes to 787 Dreamliners. The “sandwich-like structure that protects the dense electric field in the polymer/ceramic composite from dielectric breakdown,” according to researchers. Rather than relying on the …
