SBIR Phase II: Photo-Curable Silicon Oxycarbide Fiber for Diesel Engine Particulate Filters

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will scale-up a manufacturing process for curable preceramic polymers in the fabrication of high yield and low cost Silicon Oxycarbide (SOC) fibers and bonded fiber mats for diesel engine particulate filters. In the Phase I effort, SOC fibers and fiber mats were successfully fabricated and the critical materials properties required for the diesel particulate filter application were attained. This development represents the first Silicon Oxycarbide glass-ceramic fibers to be fabricated from curable poly(dimethyl)siloxanes. In addition, the photo-curable and chemically-curable polysiloxane preceramic polymers demonstrated also have potential as a binder or matrix phases for other structural composites. This Phase II effort seeks to optimize fiber mat production techniques through collaboration with Cummins Engine Company's subsidiary Fleetguard/Nelson (FGN), the world's largest manufacturer of filters for the automobile and truck market. In the project, critical factors related to automated manufacturing, process scale-up, fiber mat performance characteristics, and performance testing will be addressed to ensure a smooth transition to a commercial product. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) market will grow dramatically due to EPA requirements that all diesel vehicles be equipped with diesel particulate filters by 2007, thereby significantly improving the nation's air quality. The diesel manufacturing industry in North America now exceeds $85 billion in gross output annually. Total U. S. "on road" vehicles requiring DPF's will exceed 3 million units annually, resulting in a potential on road market size of in excess of $6 billion per year. The DPF product to be scaled up in this project has comparable performance to the current extruded ceramic honeycomb filter but with a projected unit cost of about one-tenth. This will have a dramatic impact on diesel filtration system costs with substantial environmental, energy, and trade deficit benefits.