Flexible Glass Composition for Uniform Thickness

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing methods for producing flexible glass, such as the redraw method, face challenges in achieving large-sized products with uniform thickness and surface quality due to surface tension-induced lateral contraction, resulting in narrow widths and high surface roughness, making them unsuitable for high-resolution applications like photoelectric displays.

Innovation Solution

A method involving a specific composition of raw materials (silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, boron oxide, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, strontium carbonate, and barium nitrate) is used to create flexible glass with a high strain point temperature and Young's modulus, where the glass is drawn into a tube in a polar atmosphere to reduce surface tension and facilitate the production of thin glass sheets with improved surface quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If the redraw method is used to draw and thin glass, then the glass can be thinned to less than 100 μm, but surface tension causes lateral contraction resulting in narrow width (less than 30% of original) and high surface roughness (greater than 0.110 μm)

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethickness uniformityVSAvoidwidth retention
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters of the glass to achieve optimal viscosity characteristics. By adjusting the ratio of network formers (SiO2, B2O3) and modifiers (CaO, MgO, Al2O3), the glass viscosity is controlled to reduce surface tension effects during drawing, thereby minimizing lateral contraction and width reduction while maintaining thickness uniformity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different temperatures at different locations during the drawing process. The glass is heated to specific temperature ranges (600-700°C for annealing, with local variations) to control viscosity distribution, ensuring uniform thinning while compensating for surface tension-induced contraction through localized thermal management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Manufacturing precision

If the overflow downdraw method is used, then the glass surface quality is high and flatness is good, but the foundation thickness increases the difficulty of thinning

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface qualityVSAvoidthinning difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary chemical composition design to create glass with optimized viscosity characteristics before the drawing process. By pre-adjusting the glass formula (specific ratios of SiO2, B2O3, CaO, MgO, Al2O3), the glass achieves ideal flow properties that facilitate thinning while maintaining the surface quality benefits of the overflow downdraw method.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the glass to achieve optimal viscosity characteristics. By adjusting the ratio of network formers (SiO2, B2O3) and modifiers (CaO, MgO, Al2O3), the glass viscosity is controlled to reduce surface tension effects during drawing, thereby minimizing lateral contraction and width reduction while maintaining thickness uniformity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If the slit downdraw method is used, then flexible glass with thickness of 0.03 mm-0.1 mm can be produced, but the flatness and production stability are easily affected by the shape of the slit

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethickness controlVSAvoidproduction stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters of the glass to achieve optimal viscosity characteristics. By adjusting the ratio of network formers (SiO2, B2O3) and modifiers (CaO, MgO, Al2O3), the glass viscosity is controlled to reduce surface tension effects during drawing, thereby minimizing lateral contraction and width reduction while maintaining thickness uniformity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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

This approach enables the production of flexible glass with reduced surface tension, allowing for thinner, more uniform, and higher-resolution products, suitable for photoelectric displays by minimizing bubble defects and maintaining mechanical properties.

Implementation Method 1

heat raw glass to a temperature above the softening point at which the glass becomes viscoelastic and has certain fluidity

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectViscoelasticity: Viscoelasticity

Implementation Method 2

the molten glass has low density and floats on the surface of the tin liquid for forming

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectBuoyancy: Archimedes' Principle (Buoyancy)

Implementation Method 3

due to the influence of surface tension, the raw glass is subjected to a large lateral contraction force

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSurface tension: Surface Tension

Data Source

PatentUS20240124347A1Flexible glass and preparation method therefor
Publication Date: 2024.04.18 IRICO DISPLAY DEVICES CO LTD

AI summary

Disclosed are flexible glass and a preparation method therefor; weight proportions of the raw materials used in the flexible glass are: 60.04-63.01 parts silicon dioxide, 16.7-21.5 parts aluminum oxide, 12.93-19.85 parts boron oxide, 2.43-14.19 parts calcium carbonate, 0.16-2.07 parts magnesium oxide. 0.5-2.74 parts strontium carbonate and 0-4.16 parts barium nitrate. The method includes: step 1: pouring raw materials into a mixer, and uniformly mixing to form a mixture; step 2: adding the mixture into a glass furnace, heating to melt the glass, and the melted glass entering a platinum feeding channel for clarification and flowing into a tube drawing tunnel; step 3: drawing the liquid glass into a long glass tube; step 4: using a laser cutting machine to transversely and longitudinally cut the glass tube according to specification requirements, forming a glass sheet; step 5: inspecting the glass sheet, and preparing a flexible glass product.