Fluid Permeable Vacuumed Insulating Microspheres
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for manufacturing glass microspheres lack the ability to produce hollow microspheres with high chemical durability, high crushing strength, high hydrostatic pressure rating, and eco-friendly production using industrial waste byproducts, while also failing to provide fluid permeable and vacuum-insulating microspheres with reduced internal structure and customizable internal voids.
Innovation Solution
The development of fluid permeable glass microspheres with a porous outer shell and vacuum-insulating microspheres, manufactured through a process involving phase separation, leaching, and evacuation to create microspheres with interconnected pores and a sealed vacuum, using redox active glass compositions and non-equilibrium redox reactions to achieve desired properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional glass microsphere manufacturing methods are used, then production is achieved, but the microspheres lack high chemical durability, high crushing strength, and high hydrostatic pressure rating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the chemical composition of the glass feed material (specific ratios of SiO2, Al2O3, Na2O, CaO, MgO, B2O3) and processing parameters (temperature, residence time, cooling rate) to achieve microspheres with simultaneously high crushing strength and chemical durability. The controlled formation of a dense glass structure through these parameter optimizations resolves the contradiction between strength and chemical durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite glass structure by incorporating multiple oxide components that work synergistically. The glass composition includes network formers (SiO2, B2O3), network modifiers (Na2O, CaO, MgO), and intermediates (Al2O3), creating a composite material system that achieves both high mechanical strength and enhanced chemical resistance through the combined properties of its constituents.
2Stress or pressure
If conventional glass microsphere methods are used, then production is achieved, but the microspheres lack high hydrostatic pressure rating and eco-friendly production using industrial waste byproducts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes porous industrial waste byproducts (such as fly ash, slag, or cenospheres) as feed material for microsphere formation. The controlled porosity of these materials, when processed through the specific thermal treatment regime, results in microspheres with enhanced hydrostatic pressure resistance while maintaining eco-friendly production principles by valorizing waste materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts harmful industrial waste byproducts into beneficial microsphere feed materials. By processing waste materials like fly ash or slag through controlled thermal treatment, the patent transforms potentially harmful waste into high-performance microspheres with superior hydrostatic pressure ratings, thereby converting an environmental problem into a manufacturing advantage.
3Volume of stationary object
If hollow microspheres are produced, then internal voids are created, but the internal structure lacks fluid permeability and vacuum insulation capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating distinct regions within the microsphere structure with different properties. The outer shell maintains density for structural integrity, while the internal void space provides vacuum insulation capability. This spatial differentiation of properties allows the microsphere to simultaneously achieve volume reduction, fluid permeability control, and vacuum insulation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes a thin-walled hollow microsphere structure where the shell acts as a flexible barrier. The controlled shell thickness and composition provide both mechanical strength and selective permeability, allowing the internal void to function as a vacuum insulation space while the shell maintains structural integrity and controls fluid interaction.
4Area of stationary object
If microspheres with reduced internal structure are produced, then surface area is increased, but manufacturing precision and control over internal voids are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing the feed material to control its properties before microsphere formation. The feed material is carefully selected and prepared with specific characteristics (porosity, particle size, composition) that predetermined the internal void structure and surface area of the resulting microspheres. This preliminary control ensures manufacturing precision is maintained while achieving the desired reduced internal structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates microspheres with multi-functional properties where a single manufacturing process achieves multiple objectives: forming the hollow structure, controlling internal void volume, optimizing surface area, and ensuring structural integrity. The universal applicability of the thermal treatment process to different feed materials allows consistent production of precision-engineered microspheres with customized internal structures.
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 resulting microspheres exhibit superior strength, large surface area, and chemical durability, suitable for applications in oil and gas industries and construction materials, while utilizing sustainable energy-efficient methods and industrial waste materials.
Implementation Method 1
processing the first glass melt into a second glass, the processing comprising: adding a gas to the first glass melt
Implementation Method 2
providing a plurality of redox reactions and a plurality of events in at least one of the first glass melt and a melt of the second glass, the plurality of redox reactions and the plurality of events being induced by a plurality of redox active group components and their reaction products
Implementation Method 3
evacuating the contents of a substantially hollow inner space of the plurality of microspheres with a porous outer shell and the contents of a plurality of pores comprised by the outer shell under vacuum to form a plurality of vacuumed insulating microspheres
Implementation Method 4
The interconnected pores comprise a plurality of pores with an average pore diameter from about 10 angstroms to about 500 nm
Data Source
AI summary
Microsphere comprising an outer shell enclosing a substantially hollow inner space, the outer shell comprising a fluid permeable porous structure, the fluid permeable porous structure comprising interconnected pores, the microsphere being capable of maintaining a vacuum in its substantially hollow inner space when its outer shell is sealed.