Process for manufacturing an object from a sol-gel solution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9266765-B2
Application number	US-201214348260-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2012
Priority date	Sep 29, 2011
Publication date	Feb 23, 2016
Grant date	Feb 23, 2016

Abstract

A process for manufacturing an object made of a constituent material obtained from a sol-gel solution, the process including, successively: a) introducing the sol-gel solution into a mold of the object to be manufactured; b) gelling the sol-gel solution; c) drying the gel obtained in b) in the mold, by which the gel is converted into the constituent material of the object, wherein the mold includes a closed chamber and includes a material configured to allow evacuation of gases formed during b) and/or c).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for manufacturing an object made of a constituent material obtained from a sol-gel solution, the process comprising, successively:
a) introducing the sol-gel solution into a mold of the object to be manufactured;
b) gelling the sol-gel solution;
c) drying the gel obtained in b) in the mold, by which the gel is converted into the constituent material of the object, wherein
the mold includes a closed chamber, isolated from ambient atmosphere surrounding the mold, once the sol-gel solution is introduced therein, and
the chamber is entirely composed of a material configured to allow evacuation of gases formed during the b) gelling and/or the c) drying, the material being an elastomeric material.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the mold is a material of the family of polysiloxanes.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the mold is a material of the family of polydimethylsiloxanes.

4. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising, before the a) introducing, preparing the mold of the object to be manufactured.

5. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising, before the a) introducing, preparing the sol-gel solution.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a wall thickness of the mold is identical over the whole of the mold.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mold is cast in a plurality of parts, the parts bonded together by plasma activation.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the mold is cast in a plurality of parts, the parts are placed in an oxygen plasma for a predetermined time, and the parts are bonded together by an external pressure to force contact of the parts after the oxygen plasma.

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique
• Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives

Inventors

• Fathallah Tarek
• Marchand Gilles

Classifications

• C04B2235/606

  Drying · CPC title

• C04B2235/6027

  Slip casting · CPC title

• C04B2235/441

  Alkoxides, e.g. methoxide, tert-butoxide · CPC title

• C04B35/16

  based on silicates other than clay {(zircon C04B35/48)} · CPC title

• C03C2203/26

  using alkoxides · CPC title