Fire Transformable Coating for Lightweight Glazing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fire-resistant glazings are heavy, reduce transparency when exposed to fire, and pose installation challenges due to their weight and cloudy interlayers, while existing coatings lack the ability to transform and enhance fire resistance effectively.
Innovation Solution
A fire-transformable coating comprising a noble metal oxide layer and a sacrificial layer, which transforms from a first state to a second state upon exposure to fire, reducing sheet resistance and emissivity, allowing for enhanced infrared radiation reflection and reduced heat emission, thereby improving fire resistance without increasing weight or compromising transparency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fire resistant glazings with silicate or hydrogel interlayers are used, then fire resistance is achieved, but weight increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The coating changes its physical and chemical parameters upon exposure to fire, transforming from a high-emissivity state to a low-emissivity metallic state. This parameter change enables the coating to provide effective fire resistance only when needed, without the continuous weight penalty of traditional interlayers
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite coating structure with multiple layers including noble metal oxide, transition metal, and oxygen storage material layers. This composite structure enables fire resistance functionality while maintaining a thin, lightweight profile compared to traditional bulk interlayers
2Reliability
If traditional fire resistant glazings with interlayers are used, then fire resistance is achieved, but transparency is reduced due to cloudy or hazy interlayers
Solution Approach 1:
The coating provides different optical properties in different states: in the cold state it maintains high transparency, while in the fire-exposed state it becomes reflective. This local quality change in response to temperature ensures transparency is preserved when fire resistance is not needed
Solution Approach 2:
The coating's optical parameters (emissivity, reflectivity, transparency) change dynamically in response to fire exposure. The transformation to a metallic low-emissivity state enhances fire resistance while the reversible nature allows transparency recovery, avoiding permanent clouding
3Loss of energy
If silver layers are used for heat reflection, then infrared radiation reflection is improved, but fire resistance is compromised due to oxidation
Solution Approach 1:
The oxygen storage material layer is pre-loaded with oxygen before fire exposure. This preliminary preparation ensures that when fire occurs, the noble metal oxide can be reduced to metallic state without drawing oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere, preventing oxidation and maintaining fire resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The oxygen storage material acts as an intermediary that supplies oxygen to the transition metal layer during fire exposure, preventing oxidation of the noble metal. This mediator enables the noble metal to maintain its reflective properties while the system remains fire resistant
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 coating significantly reduces heat emission and enhances fire resistance by transforming into a more reflective state at elevated temperatures, allowing for lighter, more efficient fire-resistant glazing products that maintain transparency and ease installation.
Implementation Method 1
the noble metal oxide (NMeO) of the noble metal oxide layer is reduced to noble metal layer wherein transition metal (TMe) of the sacrificial layer is oxidised to transition metal oxide (TMeO)
Implementation Method 2
the transformed and reduced noble metal (NMe) is capable to reflect infrared radiation more effectively and does emit less heat radiation
Implementation Method 3
the amount of heat originating from the fire emitted to the side facing away from the fire
Data Source
Figure 1a~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The fire transformable fire resistant coating (2) for use in a transparent fire resistant glazing product is arrangable on a flat side of a transparent panel element (1), wherein the fire transformable fire resistant coating (2) comprises at least one noble metal oxide layer (20) and at least one sacrificial layer (22). The at least one noble metal oxide layer (20) comprises a noble metal oxide with a first affinity to oxygen. The at least one sacrificial layer (22) is designed for building a reducing surrounding for the at least one noble metal oxide layer and comprises a transition metal with a second affinity to oxygen, wherein the second affinity oxygen is higher than the first affinity to oxygen. The noble metal oxide layer 20 is arranged alongside the sacrificial layer (22). Thereby the fire resistant coating (2) is transformable from a first state to a second state upon exposure to fire wherein the sheet resistance respectively the emissivity of the fire resistant coating (2) is smaller respectively lower in the second state compared to the first state.