SBIR Phase II: The Digital Spinneret

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将以纳米技术和激光材料加工的最新进展为基础，追求大规模生产化学计量比纯碳化硅(碳化硅)纤维，这是通过其他方法很难获得的。从实验室规模向工业生产的转变要求制造方法发生巨大变化。这项拟议的研究将调查创建“数字喷丝板”(DS)所涉及的参数，这是一种能够生产高质量高质量纤维的新型技术平台。第一阶段项目展示了数字喷丝板并行生产许多纤维的可行性；第二阶段研究将扩展和优化这种制造方法。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是能够规模化生产高纯度陶瓷纤维，应用于军事和航空航天(涡轮机械、火箭、先进结构)、汽车、医疗、能源和其他需要具有特殊强度、硬度、耐热性和/或耐化学性的先进材料的行业。这些都是快速增长的光纤市场，潜力巨大，总规模超过10亿美元。这种生产方法的预计能源足迹是竞争方法的1/1000，提供了巨大的成本优势。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build upon recent advances in nanotechnology and laser processing of materials to pursue the large-scale production of stoichiometrically pure silicon carbide (SiC) fibers which are very difficult to obtain by other means. The transition from laboratory scale to industrial production requires a sea change in manufacturing approach. The proposed research will investigate the parameters involved in creating a "Digital Spinneret" (DS), a novel technology platform which enables the production of large qualities of high-quality fibers. The Phase I project demonstrated feasibility of the Digital Spinneret to produce many fibers in parallel; the Phase II research will extend and optimize this manufacturing method.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be the enabling of scaled production of high-purity ceramic fibers for application in military and aerospace (turbomachinery, rockets, advanced structures), automobile, medical, energy, and other industries that require advanced materials with exceptional strength, stiffness, heat resistance, and/or chemical resistance. These are fast-growing fiber markets with great potential, and with a collective size exceeding $1 billion. The projected energy footprint of this production method is 1/1000th that of competing methods, providing a huge cost advantage.