Belated Update

Its been quite a long time since my last post.  My other work has taken a firm grip around my time and the particle panels have sat idle in the back of my mind percolating.  I can assure the readers of this blog that the idea is well alive, and despite my absence progress is being made, albeit at a snails pace.  As we approach fall and winter I imagine I will spend more time on the particle panels.  My hope was to have prototypes installed on my roof, but it looks as if I am in a fund-raising mode for two of my long-term projects and I have been working on these for many years now, so they get priority. 

Ok, for the update...

Particles

Cenospheres

In response to a readers email I was made aware of an interesting particle called cenosphere's that are a byproduct of coal-fired power plants.  They are hollow ceramic, composed mainly of silica and alumina.  As I may have mentioned in another post, the particle panel concept could be operated in reverse, where water enters from the top and the particle float.  This could potential help with the freezing problem, but introduces other problems.  I actually ordered a sample of cenospheres just to check them out.  They are light gray and thus to reflective for use in a particle panel.  It is very good to know about them, however, and I am sure I will find a use for them in the future.

Charcoal

A comment from Zachary pointed me to charcoal particles, as used in activated filters.  There appears to be two types: power and granular.  I realized I actually had some powder around, as distributed as a dietary supplement, so I dumped a couple capsules into water.  It turned ink black in no time, which is good, but it does not appears to be settling.  The ability of the particles to settle, either float or sink, is important to a particle panel.  If they do not then the over-heat protection feature is compromised.  It looks like the granular particles are what I want to try.

Glass Beads

Fred (one particularly helpful and encouraging reader) discovered small glass beads, apparently used as decoration in fingernail art.  I have not yet found a good distributor of these in the U.S, but will look around.

Thoughts


While working on my other projects and wishing I had more time to work on the particle panels, I think I have distilled my next move.  As I left it, I have a plan for acrylic panels.  I settled on acrylic because of the degradation of polycarbonate and the limited optical clarity of polypropylene.  Acrylic has some problems of its own, one of them being that it is naturally brittle and prone to crazing.  This of course brings up another problem.  I have been contacted by another reader who is pursuing a business along the particle panel lines, although he assures me its unique.  Due to an unwillingness to openly discuss his idea I have not further communicated. However, it does appear that the degradation/crazing problem is significant.  Because of this I have decided to forgo construction of a full prototype and concentrate on solving this problem directly.  

My plan is to construct tubular channels of acrylic and polycarbonate and simply expose them to high pressure,  extreme light, and constant degradation from particles to study the effects.  I have an idea how to solve the problem by constantly repairing the damage as it occurs, as I detailed in a previous post.  The idea is to circulate a small amount of oil (of some type) in the water.  The idea is that the oil will coat the inside of the panel, since water is hydrophobic and the plastic hydrophobic.  The thin layer of oil can then serve to protect the inside of the panel from hydrolysis.  It could also serve to fill in cracks caused by crazing and particle wear. 

In any case, all of this is conjecture until I can get an experimental set up and get some data.  In preparation for this work I have cleaned out my garage, so the only thing I currently lack is time.


GE Ecomagination Competition

In response to a friend's email I have submitted the particle panel idea to the GE Ecomagination Competition.  The hope of course would be to win some capital investment, which would help to develop the particle panels faster.  I obviously prioritize my work toward those projects that make me money.  If particle panels made me money...and I had enough to pay for some consultations from experts in the field and perhaps hire an engineer, particle panels would move very fast.  If you have the time, please vote for the particle panels.  They are not particularly popular at the moment, but then again I have spent zero time pumping the idea.  The first part of the competition is just a popularity contest, but it would help get the idea out there.

That's all for now...