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

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是消除低成本真空玻璃商业化的障碍，这是一项重大的建筑能效改进。普遍使用(无法实现，但这是一个有用的参考点)可以将美国的总能源消耗降低5%(约4万亿BTU/年)，按目前的S天然气价格计算，每年超过150亿美元，同时增加最低限度的基础设施建设成本。这种颠覆性技术将在新建和翻新建筑市场占据很大份额。市场的快速渗透将受到经典价值主张的推动，以相同的成本获得更好的业绩，从而消除对政府补贴的需要。在短期内，客户将是世界各地家庭用高端窗户的制造商。德国和俄罗斯有自己的真空玻璃开发计划；成功的开发将确保美国保持领先地位。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目渴望证明使用室温工艺去除真空玻璃组件内部残留表面气体的可行性。这一必要的制造步骤传统上是通过高温烘焙工艺实现的，这消除了供应钢化型真空玻璃的可能性(市场占有率为25%)。将对常压等离子体脱气过程进行研究，该过程可以在室温下进行。风险包括：1)密封前未能防止湿气再次吸附，导致周期较长和产品寿命较短；2)由于金属箔密封、低发射率金属涂层的存在而产生电弧；3)同一机器中的玻璃尺寸不同；以及4)过长的周期时间和惰性气体浪费导致高成本。这个项目将建立在大气压表面处理研究的基础上，该研究是由麦迪逊威斯康星大学等离子体辅助制造中心进行的。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to remove a barrier to commercialization of low-cost vacuum glass, a major building energy efficiency improvement. Universal use (unachievable but a useful point of reference) could reduce total U.S. energy use by 5% (about 4 quadrillion BTU/year), more than $15 billion/year at today?s natural gas prices, while adding minimal cost to building infrastructure. This disruptive technology will claim a large share of the new and retrofit building market. Rapid market penetration will be driven by the classic value proposition much better performance for the same cost, eliminating the need for government subsidy. In the near term, the customers will be manufacturers of high-end windows for use in homes around the world. Germany and Russia have their own vacuum glass development programs; a successful development will ensure the U.S. stays at the forefront.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aspires to demonstrate the feasibility of removing residual surface gases from the inside of vacuum glass assemblies using a room temperature process. This necessary manufacturing step is traditionally achieved using a high-temperature bakeout process, which eliminates the possibility of supplying tempered vacuum glass (25% of the market). Research will be performed on an ambient pressure plasma degassing process, which can be carried out at room temperature. Risks include 1) failure to prevent re-adsorption of moisture prior to sealing leading to longer cycle times and short product life, 2) arcing due to the presence of the metal foil seal, low-emissivity metal coatings, 3) varying pane sizes in the same machine, and 4) excessive cycle time and inert gas wastage leading to high cost. This project will build upon atmospheric pressure surface treatment research by the subawardee, the Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.