STTR Phase I: Development of High Performance Windows using Monolithic Aerogels
The National Science Foundation (Award ID: STTR-1415359)
Division of Industrial Innovations and Partnerships, Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program
Award Date: 07/01/2014 | Award Amount: $134,182 | Effective Dates: 07/01/14 – 6/30/2015
Project Personnel: Principal Investigator Dr. Bahram Keramati (Sunthru, LLC); co-PI Ann Anderson (Mechanical Engineering and Sunthru, LLC); Sr. Personnel Mary Carroll (Chemistry and Sunthru, LLC); Union College subaward PI Bradford Bruno (Mechanical Engineering)
Project Summary: The broader impacts/commercial potential of this project is in the development of energy-saving window products that are aesthetically pleasing. Aerogel window products have the potential to be transformative to the fenestration industry, due both to the high translucency and low thermal conductivity of the aerogel materials and the particular advantages of the fabrication method to be employed. The rapid supercritical extraction process is an environmentally friendlier approach to aerogel preparation than other methods currently used. Due to the high thermal insulating ability of silica aerogels, constructing windows from these materials will result in considerable energy savings compared to conventional windows. The fact that the optical transmission properties of aerogel materials can be tailored by varying the recipes used to prepare the aerogels can be exploited to further improve energy efficiency. The energy savings resulting from implementation of aerogel-based windows will be significant.