Lord Corporation

Bhagwati P Gupta

Richard P Thorn

Armand F Lewis

A composite elongate shaft member useful in transmitting torque between axially spaced couplings rotatable about axes that may be misaligned. The member includes a series of bags of overlapped anisotropic layers each comprising parallel filaments bonded together in a matrix. The filaments in each layer pair are disposed at a predetermined lay angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft member with the lay angles in adjacent layers of each pair being substantially equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. A desirable ratio of torsional stiffness to bending stiffness is provided while minimizing bending stresses in the member by disposing the filaments at a predetermined angle which is selected in relation to the stiffness of the matrix material to cause the strain in the circumferential direction of the member to be substantially equal to the strain in the radial direction when the member is subjected to axial strain.

Misalignment accommodating composite shaft

The material is formed of a compressed and substantially homogeneous mass of randomly extending stainless steel wires which, prior to compression of the mass, contain helical coils and are substantially free from stress risers. The material is highly durable, and under compression loading has substantially isotropic and linear stress/strain properties at significantly differing strain levels.

Spring-like material formed of compressed metallic wire

A rotary energy storage device includes a core in which a multiplicity of anisotropic filaments are embedded in a resin matrix. Extending through the core is an axis about which the core is rotatable. At least a portion of the filaments in the core are oriented transversely of each other, but not circumferentially of the axis of rotation. The transverse orientation of the filaments relative to each other produces resistance along at least two axes to radial and tangential stresses imposed on the core when it is rotated. The outer peripheral surface of the core is enclosed and snugly fitted by a shell. The shell includes a filamentary structure that provides a plurality of substantially parallel and juxtaposed filament portions oriented to circumscribe the peripheral surface of the core. The filament portions of the shell are encased in a matrix material that bonds adjacent filament portions to one another. The tensile modulus of the filament portions is such that the shell is more resistant to circumferential expansion than is the core. The shell thus impedes, at least, the circumferential expansion of the core in response to centrifugal loads applied to the core during rotation of the energy storage device. As a result, both the ultimate rotational velocity of which the energy storage device is capable and its energy storage capacity may be increased relative to a device in which the core is unconfined.

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Erie, PA, United States of America

Bhagwati P Gupta