Energy Saving Glass Lamination via Selective Radio-Frequency Heating

This Inventions and Innovations program supported the technical and commercial research and development needed to elevate Ceralink's energy saving process for flat glass lamination from bench scale to a self-supporting technology with significant potential for growth. Radio-frequency heating was any un-explored option for laminating glass prior to this program. With significant commercial success through time and energy savings in the wood, paper, and plastics industries, RF heating was found to have significant promise for the energy intensive glass lamination industry. A major technical goal of the program was to demonstrate RF lamination across a wide range of laminate sizes and materials. This was successfully accomplished, dispelling many skeptics' concerns about the abilities of the technology. Ceralink laminated panels up to 2 ft x 3 ft, with four sets processed simultaneously, in a 3 minute cycle. All major categories of interlayer materials were found to work with RF lamination. In addition to laminating glass, other materials including photovoltaic silicon solar cells, light emitting diodes, metallized glass, plastics (acrylic and polycarbonate), and ceramics (alumina) were found compatible with the RF process. This opens up a wide range of commercial opportunities beyond the initially targeted automotive industry. The dramatic energy savings reported for RF lamination at the bench scale were found to be maintained through the scale up of the process. Even at 2 ft x 3 ft panel sizes, energy savings are estimated to be at least 90% compared to autoclaving or vacuum lamination. With targeted promotion through conference presentations, press releases and internet presence, RF lamination has gained significant attention, drawing large audiences at American Ceramic Society meetings. The commercialization success of the project includes the establishment of a revenue-generating business model for providing process development and demonstrations for potential RF lamination users. A path to industrial energy benefits and revenue through industrial equipment sales was established in a partnership with Thermex Thermatron, a manufacturer of RF equipment

High Temperature Microwave Dielectric Properties of JSC-1AC Lunar Simulant

Microwave heating has many potential lunar applications including sintering regolith for lunar surface stabilization and heating regolith for various oxygen production reactors. The microwave properties of lunar simulants must be understood so this technology can be applied to lunar operations. Dielectric properties at microwave frequencies for a common lunar simulant, JSC-1AC, were measured up to 1100 C, which is approximately the melting point. The experimentally determined dielectric properties included real and imaginary permittivity (epsilon', epsilon"), loss tangent (tan delta), and half-power depth, the di stance at which a material absorbs 50% of incident microwave energy. Measurements at 2.45 GHz revealed tan delta of JSC-1A increases from 0.02 at 25 C to 0.31 at 110 C. The corresponding half-power depth decreases from a peak of 286 mm at 110 C, to 13 mm at 1100 C. These data indicate that JSC-1AC becomes more absorbing, and thus a better microwave heater as temperature increases. A half-power depth maximum at 100-200 C presents a barrier to direct microwave heating at low temperatures. Microwave heating experiments confirm the sluggish heating effect of weak absorption below 200 C, and increasingly strong absorption above 200 C, leading to rapid heating and melting of JSC-1AC

A NOVEL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING MICROWAVE HEATING OF ZIRCONIA

ABSTRACT Savings in processing time (up to 90%) and energy (20-80%) are expected in microwave sintering of ceramics, as this technology breaks through into industrial firing processes. Linn High Therm had developed a high temperature hybrid microwave system in anticipation of industries needs. Typically, silicon carbide susceptors are used to initiate heating from room temperature, where many ceramics have low dielectric losses. The loss increases with temperature, and at some "kick in" transition temperature, the ceramic load heats preferentially over the susceptors. In this work the effect of dopant type and crystal structure of zirconia on the "kick in" temperature was observed using silicon carbide susceptors

Outgassing Behavior and Heat Treatment Optimization of JSC-1A Lunar Regolith Simulant

As NASA Strives towards a Long Duration Presence on the Moon, It Has Become Increasingly Important to Learn How to Better Utilize Resources from the Lunar Surface for Everything from Habitats, Vehicle Infrastructure, and Chemical Extraction. to that End, a Variety of Lunar Simulants Have Been Sourced from Terrestrially Available Volcanic Minerals and Glass as Apollo Regolith is Unavailable for Experimentation Needing Large Masses. However, While Mineralogy and Chemical Composition Can Approach that of Lunar Material in These Simulants, There Are Still Distinct Non-Lunar Phases Such as Hydrates, Carbonates, Sulfates, and Clays that Can Cause Simulants to Behave Distinctly Non-Lunar in a Variety of Processing Conditions that Maybe Applied In-Situ to Lunar Material. Notably, Severe Glassy Bubbling Has Been Documented in a Variety of Vacuum Sintering Experiments on JSC-1A Lunar Mare Simulant Heated Via Microwaves. the Origins of This Outgassing Have Not Been Well Understood But Are Normally Attributed to the Decomposition of Non-Lunar Contaminates Intrinsic to Virtually All Terrestrially Sourced Simulants. as Such, a Series of Controlled Environmental Tests Were Performed to Ascertain the Origins of the High Temperature Outgassing and to Develop Heat Treatments that Can Drive JSC-1A Closer to Lunar Composition and Behavior. It Was Found that in JSC-1A at Elevated Temperatures Distinct Gas Evolutions of Water, Carbon Dioxide, and Sulfur Dioxide Occur in Both Inert Gas and Vacuum. Additionally, the Presence of Hydrogen during Heat Treatments Was Shown to Dramatically Change Gas Evolutions, Leading to Distinctly More Lunar-Like Composition and Behavior from JSC-1A Simulant

Energy Saving Glass Lamination via Selective Radio Frequency Heating

Ceralink Inc. developed FastFuse™, a rapid, new, energy saving process for lamination of glass and composites using radio frequency (RF) heating technology. The Inventions and Innovations program supported the technical and commercial research and development needed to elevate the innovation from bench scale to a self-supporting technology with significant potential for growth. The attached report provides an overview of the technical and commerical progress achieved for FastFuse™ during the course of the project. FastFuse™ has the potential to revolutionize the laminate manufacturing industries by replacing energy intensive, multi-step processes with an energy efficient, single-step process that allows higher throughput. FastFuse™ transmits RF energy directly into the interlayer to generate heat, eliminating the need to directly heat glass layers and the surrounding enclosures, such as autoclaves or vacuum systems. FastFuse™ offers lower start-up and energy costs (up to 90% or more reduction in energy costs), and faster cycles times (less than 5 minutes). FastFuse™ is compatible with EVA, TPU, and PVB interlayers, and has been demonstrated for glass, plastics, and multi-material structures such as photovoltaics and transparent armor