SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing Low-Cost Metal-to-Glass Seals for Insulating Glazing

SBIR 第一阶段：制造用于中空玻璃的低成本金属玻璃密封件

• 批准号: 1047362
• 负责人: Peter Petit
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: V-Glass LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1047362&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Manufacturing; Low; Cost

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I aims to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a novel machine for manufacturing low-cost glass-to-metal seals for insulating window glazing. Applications include vacuum glazing which insulates as well as a wall (R11 to R20), representing a major improvement in window technology. It will also provide an opportunity to improve existing window technology. The one remaining barrier to economic viability is a low-cost process to metallize the perimeter edges of glass panes. The current state of the art requires a vacuum chamber large enough to hold glass as large as 2 meters x 3 meters. The large chamber and associated vacuum pumps are capital- and operating-cost intensive, largely wasted on smaller panes. This project involves building and operating an innovative vacuum deposition device which can metalize the edges of glass panes of virtually any size. The capital cost and operating cost of this device will scale up based on pane perimeter, not pane area. The proposed activity will leverage accumulated knowledge in plasma-aided manufacturing, and advance it, to overcome longstanding technical barriers to provide a major advance in glazing technology. It will improve the understanding of how closely vacuum glazing approaches its potential.The commercial potential of this project will be accrue primarily to the retrofitting of residential buildings. By 2050, if 2 trillion square feet of glazing can be retrofitted with this technology, the avoided energy loss would amount to 12% of residential heating and cooling energy, or 1% of U.S. energy use. Avoided greenhouse gas emissions for the entire U.S. would also be 1%.This project arises from the goal of achieving cost parity, that is, vacuum windows that cost no more to manufacture than conventional argon-filled Insulating Glass units. If cost parity is achieved, the avoided costs of drilling natural gas wells equivalent to this energy savings will more than pay for the required installed glazing capacity. Successful development of this machine will lead to achieving cost parity, enabling rapid market penetration through retrofit of existing buildings as well as new construction.

这项小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段旨在证明构建一种新型机器的可行性，用于制造用于隔热窗户玻璃的低成本玻璃-金属密封件。应用包括隔热的真空玻璃以及墙(R11到R20)，这代表着窗技术的重大改进。它还将为改进现有的窗口技术提供机会。经济可行性的唯一障碍是一种低成本的玻璃边缘金属化工艺。目前的技术水平需要一个足够大的真空室来容纳2米x 3米大的玻璃。大型真空室和相关的真空泵是资本和运营成本密集型的，大部分浪费在较小的隔板上。该项目包括建造和运营一种创新的真空沉积设备，该设备可以将几乎任何尺寸的玻璃边缘金属化。此设备的资本成本和运营成本将基于窗框周长而不是窗框面积进行扩展。拟议的活动将利用在等离子辅助制造方面积累的知识，并推动它，以克服长期存在的技术障碍，从而在玻璃技术方面取得重大进展。它将提高人们对真空玻璃如何接近其潜力的理解。该项目的商业潜力将主要用于住宅建筑的翻新。到2050年，如果2万亿平方英尺的玻璃可以用这项技术进行改造，避免的能源损失将相当于住宅供暖和制冷能源的12%，或美国能源使用量的1%。整个美国避免的温室气体排放量也将达到1%。该项目源于实现成本平价的目标，即真空窗的制造成本不超过传统的充氩中空玻璃单元。如果实现成本平价，钻探天然气井所避免的成本相当于节省的能源，将超过所需的安装玻璃能力。这种机器的成功开发将导致实现成本平价，通过改造现有建筑和新建筑实现快速市场渗透。