SBIR Phase II: Ambient-Pressure Plasma Degassing for Low Cost Vacuum Glass

SBIR 第二阶段：低成本真空玻璃的常压等离子体脱气

• 批准号: 1556094
• 负责人: Peter Petit
• 金额: $ 72.36万
• 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: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-05-01 至 2018-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1556094&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Ambient; Pressure

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in significantly reducing global carbon emissions using vacuum insulating glass. Vacuum glass is like a flat and transparent thermos bottle for windows. Vacuum glass has three times less heat loss than triple pane glass but costs no more to manufacture. This disruptive value proposition will drive rapid market penetration, regardless of energy price, and without the need for government subsidy. This project will produce vacuum insulating glass that will enable R-10 windows, consistent with the goals and schedule of the DOE Windows Roadmap. Immediate benefits include improved occupant comfort and reduced heating bills without thermostat setback. Furthermore, vacuum windows will be condensation-free and fog-free forever. The potential impact is huge. Buildings represent 40% of total U.S. carbon emissions. Near-universal use could reduce total U.S. energy use by 3% (about 3 quadrillion BTU/year), while adding no cost to building infrastructure. Germany, Japan, Australia, China, and Russia have vacuum glass development programs; a successful development under this project will ensure that the U.S. stays at the scientific and technological forefront of this technology, and participates in a large and growing market.This project will develop the use of plasma degassing to achieve a vacuum life beyond 20 years, a condition for private investment. Without adequate degassing, moisture attached to internal surfaces is trapped at the time of seal-off. Trapped moisture molecules will later outgas, causing vacuum decay. Traditional high-temperature bakeout is too costly for affordable vacuum glass. Bakeout takes hours, but plasma degassing takes minutes. A German vacuum glass development effort tried plasma degassing under vacuum, which is inefficient. In contrast, this project will use atmospheric pressure plasma degassing, which is both faster and cheaper. Building on lessons learned during the Phase I project, a plasma treatment protocol will be developed to produce VIG panes as large as 25% of the average residential window size. Working in parallel, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will work to optimize the insulating performance of the design to enable an R-10 window for the DOE Windows Roadmap. Thereafter, an integrated pilot line will be assembled, able to produce vacuum glass units suitable for meaningful retrofit projects. Finally, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will conduct accelerated life testing. Independent life data, combined with a successful operating pilot line, will help secure private investment for commercialization.

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是使用真空中空玻璃显著减少全球碳排放。真空玻璃就像窗户上的一个平坦透明的保温瓶。真空玻璃的热损失比三层玻璃少三倍，但制造成本不高。这种颠覆性的价值主张将推动市场快速渗透，无论能源价格如何，而且不需要政府补贴。该项目将生产真空中空玻璃，使R-10窗户成为可能，符合美国能源部窗口路线图的目标和时间表。立竿见影的好处包括改善了乘员的舒适性，减少了暖气费用，而不会影响到恒温器。此外，真空窗将永远不会结露和雾化。潜在的影响是巨大的。建筑物占美国碳排放总量的40%。近乎普遍的使用可以将美国的总能源使用量减少3%(约3万亿BTU/年)，同时不会增加基础设施建设的成本。德国、日本、澳大利亚、中国和俄罗斯都有真空玻璃的开发计划；该项目的成功开发将确保美国保持这项技术的科技前沿，并参与一个巨大且不断增长的市场。该项目将开发利用等离子体脱气实现真空寿命超过20年的条件，这是私人投资的条件。如果没有足够的除气，附着在内部表面的水分会在密封时被困住。被困住的水分分子稍后会放出气体，导致真空衰变。对于负担得起的真空玻璃来说，传统的高温烘焙成本太高。烘焙需要几个小时，但等离子脱气只需要几分钟。德国的一项真空玻璃研发工作试图在真空下进行等离子体脱气，但效率很低。相比之下，该项目将使用大气压等离子体除气，既快又便宜。在第一阶段项目经验教训的基础上，将开发一种等离子处理方案，以生产平均住宅窗户尺寸的25%的VIG玻璃。同时，劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室将致力于优化设计的绝缘性能，以实现美国能源部窗口路线图的R-10窗口。之后，将组装一条综合试点生产线，能够生产适合于有意义的改造项目的真空玻璃单元。最后，国家可再生能源实验室将进行加速寿命测试。独立的人寿数据，再加上一条成功的运营试点线路，将有助于获得用于商业化的私人投资。