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Duckworth, Robert

Publications and source records attributed to Duckworth, Robert.

High performance Calcium Copper Titanate/Polyimide dielectrics composites enabled through colloidal stabilization

Transition to electrified transportation demands advanced power electronic components with the capability to improve range, reliability, and cost of ownership to accelerate mass market adoption. Thus, improvement in the current designs, manufacturing processes, materials, and components capable of providing reliable and efficient operation at higher temperatures play important roles in meeting future needs. To address these challenges, this article focuses on novel dielectric materials designed to reduce the volume of the most important and bulky component of a power electronic system, a capacitor. A new composite dielectric material was developed by integrating the positive attributes of both polymer and ceramic capacitors to overcome the challenges of state-of-the-art dielectric materials. Further, the developed composite properties have been evaluated and showed promising results, achieving a dielectric constant of 250 at 100 Hz, 25°C, unseen in current literature. Additionally, these materials can function at high temperatures (>150°C) with good breakdown strength, providing promising working conditions for capacitors, especially in electric vehicle applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

R&D Needs for a US Fusion Magnet Base Program

Significant technology maturation efforts are underway by privately funded fusion startups with the goal to demonstrate mature HTS magnet technology. To support the private sector development effort and the DOE milestone based program, a U.S. Fusion Magnet Community Workshop was held on March 14-15, 2023 in Princeton, NJ. This was the first U.S. community workshop focused on fusion magnet technologies aimed at determining the structure and technical direction for a public program designed to complement the private fusion industry landscape. Based on the wide range of different contributions, a set of general themes and fusion magnet R&D needs were identified and discussed. Feedback received to the workshop charge questions highlighted critical magnet R&D gaps such as availability of existing large cable and coil test facilities, a magnet education program that can generate a trained and essential workforce by leveraging R&D capabilities of universities, U.S. national labs, and fusion industry. Other opportunities synergistic and complementary with high energy physics, high field magnets that are open for a broad range of science drivers. The defined R&D gaps underpin the need for a mid-term and long-term public program in fusion magnet development, which reflects the purpose of the workshop in developing the rationale and consent for such a base program. A self-consistent, fusion specific U.S. fusion magnet program will complement and de-risk fusion pilot plants (FPPs) of promising magnetic configurations developed by private companies on a timeline consistent with the NASEM report on bringing fusion to the U.S. grid. We describe the magnet challenges presented and R&D needs discussed in the workshop. In conclusion, these challenges and R&D needs provide focus for the development of U.S. mid-term and long term roadmaps on enabling HTS for high field fusion.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗