Richard Hayes

Function: Senior Engineering Scientist



Biography

Mr. Hayes joined UT-CEM as a full time engineer in 1986. He provides technical and programmatic leadership on a wide variety of programs. His responsibilities have progressed throughout his career, starting as a task engineer responsible for component design, to his current position as Deputy Program Manager for the Electric Vehicle Program. He has published numerous technical articles and reports and has two patents based on his work at UT-CEM. In 2001, he co-authored a Technology Transfer and Development Proposal to the State of Texas and industry that lead to the licensing of UT-CEM’s active suspension technology by Northrop Grumman.

Mr. Hayes was first employed by UT-CEM as a student from 1978 to 1979. After graduating, he worked in the private sector for six years in materials testing and generator design before returning in 1986, at which time he became responsible for a number of projects associated with the 60 MJ Balcones power supply. In 1987, Mr. Hayes was in charge of the completion and operation of the 9 MJ single shot gun (SSG) vertical range facility, including the assembly and installation of the 9 MJ single shot gun in 1988. In 1989, Mr. Hayes became project engineer for the 9 MJ SSG project where he evaluated launch packages and coordinated the test program and range operations to facilitate the use of the 9 MJ SSG by outside contractors through 1993. He led the design of the first successful separating sabot armature to be launched from the 9 MJ gun and coordinated the highest energy railgun shot ever conducted (at that time). During this time he received his professional engineering license and was co-inventor on two patents related to railguns.

As one of the first engineers on UT-CEM’s Electric Vehicle Program in 1994, Mr. Hayes became project engineer on the Flywheel Battery Project and guided the overall design of the highly successful 40,000 rpm, 2 kWh, 150 kW system. That project led to a number of new Electric Vehicle projects in which Mr. Hayes participated, including: Flywheel Safety and Containment; Combat Hybrid Propulsion System; NASA Flywheel Energy Storage System; Flywheel Battery Commercial Viability Study, and the Advanced Technology Transit Bus Integration Projects. In 1998 Mr. Hayes was appointed as Deputy Program Manager on the Electric Vehicle Program working under Dr. Joe Beno. Since that time, the CEM-UT Electric Vehicle and Space Applications Program has generated over $20M in new research funding. Mr. Hayes initially focused on the continued development of high performance flywheel batteries for vehicular and space applications, serving as project engineer on both the Transit Bus and NASA flywheel projects. In 2001 he co-authored a proposal to develop and commercialize an active suspension system for a Stewart and Stevenson military cargo truck. Active suspension technology for military applications was licensed to Northrop Grumman in 2002 and Mr. Hayes continued to serve as project engineer on active suspension commercialization projects. Mr. Hayes also provided technical and managerial input on a number of other projects under the Electric Vehicle Program including: System Development for the Office of Naval Research; Geothermal Power Plant Study for GeoTek; and High Speed Motor Control for Vycon.

In 2007 Mr. Hayes started work as the project engineer and systems engineer developing a new “tracker” for the University’s Hobby Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas. The tracker carries the Prime Focus Instrument Package and Wide Field Corrector approximately 13 m above the 10 m diameter primary mirror.  The precision tracker and control system, an 18,000 kg robot,  positions a 3,100 kg payload within 10 microns of a desired dynamic track using 13 precision controlled actuators and 100 additional analog and digital devices (primarily sensors and safety limit switches).   The system was completed in 2012 and is currently undergoing testing in CEM’s lab in preparation for installation at McDonald Observatory. 

Current Projects

* HETDEX Tracker:  in coordination with staff from McDonald Observatory, design, fabricate and test a 20 ton replacement tracking system for the fourth largest optical telescope in the world to enable completion of the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment.

* NASA Flywheel Gimbal Replacement: working with Balcones Technologies, and based on previous experience in flywheels and dynamically controlled actuators, the team is developing a concept design for a replacement to traditional flywheel gimbal systems that is based on a parallel kinematic structure commonly known as the Canfield Joint. 

* Rolling Dynamic Deflectometer: a joint effort with the UT Civil Engineering department and the Texas Department of Transportation to develop an improved dynamic sensor system to determine pavement stability from a moving platform, minimizing downtime and interference with traffic.

Research Areas/Areas of Interest

* Technology commercialization

* High performance flywheel systems

* Active suspension systems

* Electromechanical actuators

* Alternative energy technology

About Me

* Professional Engineering License 1993

* ASME Member since 1994

Education

* B.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1980

Awards

* Gun Liner Repair Apparatus, (with E.G. Estes, J. Hahne, R. Hussion), U.S. Statutory Invention Registration No. H 1433, assigned to the Secretary of the Army, May 2, 1995

* Explosively Actuated Thermal Opening Switch, (with J.L. Upshaw, J.J. Hahne, R.C. Zowarka, Jr., J.P. Kajs, and R.L. Sledge, II), U.S. Patent No. 5,360,999, November 1, 1994

Filed as Records of Invention

* Flywheel Motor Generator with Power Electronics for the Formula One Kinetic Energy Recovery System, (with Richard Thompson, Hamid Ouroua, Brian Murphy, Steve Manifold, Mark Flynn, and Clay Hearn), UT Tech ID OTC-5260-THO, submitted March 2007, pending

Publications

*R. Hayes, T. Beets, J. Beno, J. Booth, M. Cornell, J. Good, J. Heisler, G. Hill, H. Kriel, C.E. Penney, M. Rafal, R. Savage, I. Soukup, M. Worthington, J. Zierer, “Use of failure modes and effects analysis in design of the tracker system for the HET wide-field upgrade,” SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 8449-56, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 1-6, 2012, PN 355.

*J. Beno, C. Penney, R. Hayes, I. Soukup, R. Leck, D. Weeks “HETDEX tracker control system design and implementation,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 8444-211, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 1-6, 2012, PN 357.

*I. Soukup, J. Beno, G. Hill, J. Good, C. Penney, T. Beets, J. Esquerra, R. Hayes, J. Heisler, J. Zierer, G. Wedeking, M. Worthington, D. Wardell, J. Booth, M. Cornell, J. Rafal “Testing, characterization, and control of a multi-axis high precision drive system for the Hobby-Eberle Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX),” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 8444-147, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 1-6, 2012, PN 358.

*G. Hill, J. Booth, M. Cornell, J. Good, K. Gebhardt, H. Kriel, H. Lee, R. Leck, P. MacQueen, D. Perry, M. Rafal, T. Rafferty, C. Ramiller, R. Savage, C. Taylor, B. Vattiat, L. Ramsey, J. Beno, T. Beets, J. Esguerra, M. Haueser, R. Hayes, J. Heisler, I. Soukup, J. Zierer, M. Worthington, N. Mollison, D. Wardell, G. Wedeking, “Current status of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope wide field upgrade,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 8444-19, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 1-6, 2012, PN 359.

* J. Heisler, N. Mollison, R.J. Hayes, et al., “Integration of VIRUS spectrographs for the Hobby-Eberly telescope dark energy experiment,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, San Diego, CA, USA, June 27 to July 2, 2010, PN 341.

*N.T. Mollison, et al., “Collaborative engineering and design management for the Hobby Eberly Telescope tracker upgrade,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, San Diego, CA, USA, June 27 to July 2, 2010, PN 342.

*I.M. Soukup, J.H. Beno, R.J. Hayes, et al., “Design of the fiber optic support system and fiber bundle accelerated life test for VIRUS,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, San Diego, CA, USA, June 27 to July 2, 2010, PN 344.

*J. Good, et. al., “Design of Performance Verification Testing for HETDEX Tracker in the Laboratory” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, San Diego, CA, USA, June 27 to July 2, 2010,

R. Savage, et al., “Current Status of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope wide field upgrade,” Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, San Diego, CA, USA, June 27 to July 2, Proc. SPIE, 7733-149 (2010)

*R.J. Hayes, et al., “Design and testing of an active suspension system for a 2.5 ton military truck,” SAE 2005 World Congress, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., April 11-14, 2005 (PR 373).

* R.C. Thompson, J. Kramer, and R.J. Hayes, “Response of an urban bus flywheel battery to a rapid loss of vacuum event,” Advancement of Material and Process Engineering SAMPE Journal of Advanced Materials, vol. 37, July 2005, pp. 42-50 (PN 273).

* J.J. Zierer, et al., “Design and proof testing of a composite containment system for mobile applications,” Paper #2004-01-0005, 2004 SAE World Congress, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., March 8-11, 2004 (PR 335).

* J.H. Beno, M.M. Flynn, R.J. Hayes, R.E. Hebner, J.R. Jackson, A. Ouroua, M.A. Pichot, E. Schroeder, J.J. Zierer, and D.A. Weeks, “Design and analysis of a 20 MW Propulsion Power Train,” Proc. 7th International Naval Engineering Conference and Exhibition (INEC), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 16-18, 2004, pp. 409-414 (PR 341).

* L. Hawkins, B.T. Murphy, J.J. Zierer, and R.J. Hayes, “Shock and vibration testing of an AMB supported energy storage flywheel,” Eighth International Symposium on Magnetic Bearings (ISMB-8), Mito, Japan, August 26-28, 2002, JSME’s International Journal Series C, vol. 46, no. 2, June 2003.

* R.J. Hayes, et al., “Design and performance testing of a transit bus drive train with flywheel energy storage,” International Future Transportation Technology Conference, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.A., June 23-25, 2003 (PR 336).

* J.L. Strubhar, et al., “Light-weight containment for high energy, rotation machines,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 39, no. 1, January 2003, pp. 378-383 (PR 312).

* H.E. Jordan, J.D. Herbst, and R.J. Hayes, “Flywheel energy storage systems and their applications,” SMMA 2002 Fall Technical Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., November 6-8, 2002 (PN 267).

* T.A. Aanstoos, et al., “High voltage stator for a flywheel energy storage system,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 37, no. 1, January 2001, pp. 242-247 (PR 284).

* M.A. Pichot, et al., “Active magnetic bearings for energy storage systems for combat vehicles,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 37, no. 1, January 2001, pp. 318-323 (PR 283).

* P.T. McMullen, C.S. Huynh, and R.J. Hayes, “Combination radial-axial magnetic bearing,” Magnetic Bearing Symposium, August 2000 (PN 250).

*M.A. Pichot, J.P. Kajs, A. Ouroua, J.H. Beno, and R.J. Hayes, “Inside-out configuration active magnetic bearing actuators,” 5th International Symposium on Magnetic Suspension Technology, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A., December 1-3, 1999 (PN 246).

* T.A. Aanstoos, R. Lawrence, R.J. Hayes, M. Grady, and J.H. Beno, “Flywheel Battery Commercialization Study Final Report to Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),” Palo Alto, CA, publication number 1999.TR-113541, July 1999 (RF 188).

* R.J. Hayes, J.P. Kajs, R.C. Thompson, and J.H. Beno, “Design and testing of a flywheel battery for a transit bus,” 1999 SAE International Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., March 1-4, 1999 (PR 265).

* M. Pichot, J. Kramer, R.J. Hayes, R.C. Thompson, and J.H. Beno, “The flywheel battery containment problem,” 1997 SAE International Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., February 24-27, 1997 (PR 225).

* R.C. Zowarka, et al., “Development of a 9 MJ Electric Gun System and Range,” Poster presented at the 8th Electromagnetic Launch Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, April 22-24, 1996 (PR 211).

* R.C. Zowarka, et al., “Development of a 9 MJ electric gun system and range,” 12th Electric Launcher Association Meeting, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, U.S.A., September 13-15, 1994 (PN 220).

* R.J. Hayes and T.E. Hayden, “Experimental results from solid armature tests at the Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 29, no. 1, part 2, January 1993, pp. 819-824 (PR 162).

* J.J. Hahne and R.J. Hayes, “Operating experience with the 90-mm railgun at CEM-UT,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 29, no. 1, part 2, January 1993, pp. 407-412 (PR 150).

* R.C. Zowarka and R. Hayes, “Single short gun 9 MJ EM gun experiment,” 43rd Aeroballistic Range Association, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., September 28-October 1, 1992 (PN 204).

* R.J. Hayes, “Railgun experiments at The University of Texas Center for Electromechanics,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, B56/57, 1991, pp. 1176-1179 (PN 176).

* R.J. Hayes, R.L. Fuller, J.P. Kajs, R.L. Laughlin, and R.C. Zowarka, “Pulsed power accelerators at CEM-UT,” Digest of Technical Papers, 8th Pulsed Power Conference, San Diego, California, U.S.A., June 16-19, 1991, pp. 50-53 (PN 181).

* R.J. Hayes and R.C. Zowarka Jr., “Experimental results from CEM-UT’s single shot 9 MJ railgun,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 27, no. 1, January 1991, pp. 33-38 (PR 111).

* R.L. Fuller and R.J. Hayes, “Railgun programs at CEM-UT,” 41st Aero Ballistic Range Association meeting at Maxwell Labs, San Diego, California, U.S.A., October 22-25, 1990 (PN 177).