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US 3,944,640 AGranted
Method for forming refractory fibers by laser energy
AssigneeArthur D. Little, Inc.
InventorsJohn S. Haggerty, Wilson P. Menashi, Joseph F. Wenckus
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method and apparatus for forming fibers of refractory materials. A melt volume is continuously formed on a feed rod of the material to be fiberized and a fiber drawn therefrom. The melt volume is formed by introducing the feed rod at a predetermined velocity into a heating zone. The fiber diameter is determined by the relative velocities at which the feed rod is moved and the fiber drawn, and by the fractional density of the feed rod material.
Claims9
A method of forming refractory fibers comprising the steps of
- a. providing a heating zone by concentrating laser energy within said zone, said laser energy being of a character to melt the refractory material to be fiberized;
- b. introducing a feed rod of said refractory material into said heating zone thereby to form a stable melt volume of said refractory supported principally through surface tension forces on said feed rod within said heating zone;
- c. drawing a fiber from said melt volume, said drawing of said fiber being so controlled so that the product of fiber fractional density, drawing velocity and cross sectional area is maintained equal to the product of feed rod fractional density, the velocity at which said rod is introduced into said heating zone and cross sectional area of said rod, and the ratio of the radius of said feed rod to the radius of said fiber and the ratio of the height of said melt volume to the radius of said fiber is such as to retain a high degree of stability;
- and
- d. controlling the length of said heating zone so that it is no greater than the length of said melt volume.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.