SBIR Phase I: Solar Concentrator Unit for Low-Cost Metal Additive Manufacturing

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide access to a solar heat source for controlled high temperature applications using minimal, low-cost equipment. The proposed Solar Concentrator Unit (SCU) is the first step to providing individuals and underserved communities with the freedom of a low-cost alternative to many of their most pressing manufacturing and materials processing needs. The SCU produces no emissions in its heat generation, requires no fuel costs, and can be used in remote locations to deliver precision control to high temperature thermal processes. Many new applications become available to market participants through the proposed innovation with the most notable commercial outcome being a multi-material additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) system capable of producing custom metal and glass parts. Additional applications for the SCU include welding; recycling of waste material into useful feedstocks; pyrolysis of waste streams to render them chemically and biologically inert; sanitizing medical equipment in disaster response operations; and very high temperature materials science research by individuals and research institutions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project explores the design and performance of a SCU for delivering high temperatures in the range of 65 ?C to 2,200 ?C over long durations (6+ hours). The technology relies on concentrated solar energy as the primary heat source with the proposed innovation being a feedback control system for maintaining temperature of a receiver plane to within +/-5% of an operating value. The proposed innovation addresses the limitations of existing methods for concentrating solar energy which lack temperature control and whose consistency of output thermal flux varies with time of day, sun position, cloud cover, and atmospheric conditions. This Phase I project will consist of development of a SCU prototype to conduct characterization tests on output solar flux and flux density under varying solar conditions. The expected outcome of this project will be to prove feasibility of the proposed design concept and evaluate its use for controlled, high temperature applications. The performance characteristics of the SCU will be fully explored in Phase I and the design of the SCU will allow for development of modular Thermal Processing Units in Phase II to interface with the concentrated solar spot produced by the SCU. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.