Enameled Glass Underlayer for Mechanical Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
The presence of enamel layers on glazings, particularly in automobile applications, leads to a deterioration in mechanical strength due to heterogeneities, residual stresses, and thermal expansion coefficient differences between the enamel and glass.
Innovation Solution
A material comprising a glass sheet with an enameled zone coated with an opaque enamel layer and a nonenameled zone, where an underlayer is positioned solely in part of the enameled zone under the enamel layer, improving mechanical strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If an opaque enamel layer is deposited on the glass sheet, then the aesthetic appearance and UV protection are improved, but the mechanical strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
An underlayer is introduced as an intermediary between the glass sheet and the opaque enamel layer. This underlayer acts as a buffer that reduces the direct interaction between the enamel heterogeneities and the glass, thereby maintaining mechanical strength while allowing the enamel to provide its aesthetic and UV protection functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution creates a composite structure consisting of three layers: the glass sheet, the underlayer, and the opaque enamel layer. This composite material approach allows each layer to contribute its specific properties - the glass provides structural strength, the underlayer provides stress buffering, and the enamel provides aesthetic appearance and UV protection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If an opaque enamel layer is deposited on the glass sheet, then the UV protection is improved, but the reliability under thermomechanical stresses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The underlayer serves as a mediator that decouples the thermal expansion effects between the enamel and glass. During temperature variations, the underlayer absorbs and distributes the differential expansion stresses, preventing crack initiation and propagation that would otherwise compromise the reliability of the enameled glass under thermomechanical stresses.
3Ease of manufacture
If the enamel layer is placed in contact with the glass sheet, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the mechanical strength deteriorates due to residual stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The underlayer is introduced as an intermediary layer between the glass sheet and the opaque enamel layer. This underlayer acts as a buffer that reduces the direct interaction between the enamel heterogeneities and the glass, thereby maintaining mechanical strength while allowing the enamel to provide its aesthetic and UV protection functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The introduction of the underlayer enhances the mechanical strength of the enameled glass, reducing the likelihood of breakage under mechanical or thermomechanical stresses.
Implementation Method 1
The difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of the enamel and of the glass and the diffusion of entities between the glass and the enamel also result in the creation of residual stresses which locally weaken the enameled glass.
Implementation Method 2
The difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of the enamel and of the glass and the diffusion of entities between the glass and the enamel also result in the creation of residual stresses which locally weaken the enameled glass.
Implementation Method 3
The underlayer is advantageously a sol-gel layer based on silica.
Data Source
AI summary
A material includes a glass sheet, one face of which includes an enameled zone coated with an opaque enamel layer and a nonenameled zone, an underlayer which is not an enamel layer being positioned solely in at least a part of the enameled zone, under the enamel layer and in contact therewith.