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There should be an absolute cap on the energy storage in springs. Otherwise, a team good gain a real advantage by, say, making a spring powered flywheel.
I would suggest, in addition to your statements:
Total energy stored in all springs cannot exceed ___ Nm.
I don't have a good number for the blank.
Also, how would you determine the rate of energy release from the spring? Even if FIRST relied on gracious professionalism for teams to honor the energy release restriction, teams would need to have a procedure for determining this themselves. Otherwise, you would need a safety inspection at competition.
FIRST could verify the energy storage restriction by asking for the spring constant and the amount of deformation, both easily obtainable/verifiable.
Andrew, Team 356
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