SBIR Phase I: Passive Cooling Materials for Transparent Applications in Refrigerated Trucking and Solar

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是克服适用于商业环境的透明被动辐射冷却材料的障碍。 该项目开发了一种透明的被动冷却薄膜，适用于加热时失去效率的情况，以及涉及机械和热应力的情况，例如冷藏卡车上的广告，或太阳能电池板的正面。它将同时提供可见光波长的透明度，耐用性，以承受元素，灵活性，易于应用，高冷却能力，以解决客户的痛点，并在卷对卷格式的可制造性，以最大限度地降低成本。该技术有可能通过将薄膜应用于冷藏卡车拖车的外部来提供25-80%的燃油效率。为客户带来的好处包括：节省燃料成本，减少排放，满足法规要求，与制冷机组和卡车内绝缘相比，降低维护和更换成本，以及在最高热量下保持温度。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发一种薄膜产品，该产品可能会在许多行业中彻底改变冷却技术。对温度敏感的商品的需求预计将继续显着增长。为了满足制冷的需求，降低燃料成本和排放，该项目正在开发热波长窗口中的选择性光子发射器，以便将热量有效地封闭在隔热保温瓶（大气）中，而不是将它们暴露在巨大的冷沉空间中。其结果是一种革命性的完全被动热管理方法。这种方法将在薄膜光子材料中进行优化，为冷藏卡车拖车提供显着的冷却，节省制冷燃料成本。第一阶段的研究目标将建立可行性证明，包括在晶圆级生产和测试有前途的材料组合，测试以确保材料的质量转移到商业相关的尺寸，做一个小小的，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to overcome the barrier to transparent passive radiative cooling materials that are applicable to commercial environments. The project develops a transparent passive cooling thin-film applicable to situations that lose efficiency when heated, and where both mechanical and thermal stress are involved, for example, over advertisements on refrigerated trucks, or on the front face of solar panels. It will provide the simultaneous qualities of transparency in visible wavelengths, durability to withstand the elements, flexibility for ease of application, high cooling power to address customers' pain points, and manufacturability in a roll to roll format to minimize costs. The technology has the potential to provide a 25-80% increase in fuel efficiency via application of the thin-film to the outside of refrigerated truck trailers. The benefits to customers include: fuel cost savings, reduced emissions, allowing regulatory requirements to be met, decreased maintenance and replacement costs compared to refrigeration units and in-truck insulation in truck, as well as temperature maintenance in maximum heat.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a thin-film product that could revolutionize cooling technologies across a number of industries. The demand for temperature-sensitive goods is expected to continue to grow significantly. To address the need for refrigeration with reduced fuel costs and emissions, the project is developing selective photonic emitters in thermal wavelength windows such that instead of heat being effectively enclosed in an insulating thermos (the atmosphere), they are exposed to a vast cold sink of space. The result is a revolutionary method of entirely passive heat management. This approach will be optimized in a thin-film photonics material that provides significant cooling to refrigerated truck trailers, saving refrigeration fuel costs. Phase I research objectives will establish proof of feasibility and include producing and testing promising material combinations at wafer-scale, testing to ensure that the material's qualities transfer to a commercially relevant size, and performing a small-scale test with potential customers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.