Method of preparing tubular silica glass

Abstract

A sol-gel process for preparing dimensionally precise tubular silica glass articles wherein a solution having a specific gravity higher than the specific gravity of the sol solution is placed in a cylindrical container with the sol solution is provided. The container is rotated around its axis and the high specific gravity solution becomes aligned adjacent the inner wall of the cylindrical container due to the effect of centrifugal forces acting on the high specific gravity solution. The sol solution becomes aligned adjacent the inner surface of the high specific gravity solution. The tubular wet gel formed from the sol solution has a uniform thickness and a highly precise round cross-section. The dimensional precision of the wet gel is maintained by rotating the wet gel during drying in order to prevent warping.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.