INVESTIGATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF CUTTING INDUSTRIAL FABRICS WITH CONCENTRATED SOLAR ENERGY.

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of using solar energy (or energy from simulators of it) to cut out industrial fabrics and to determine the basic characteristics of this process. For, in a number of cases, thermal cutting by melting quartz, glass, asbestos, or other fabrics leads to reduced losses of material by avoiding damage to the structure by 'fraying'. Production hygiene is improved, the need for scarce blades is eliminated, and energy is saved. The cutting process was investigated for glass cloth, silica and asbestos. The fabrics were cut on an SGU-9 solar unit with a 1. 0 m diameter paraboloid concentrator with silver back coating, angle of opening 120 degree , focus distance 360 mm. A timing device times the beginning of heating, the end of complete burn-through, the beginning of the specimen's movement, and the termination of heating. There was an improvement in the processed edges due to flashing of the margins.