*** 9760020 Weber This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will determine the feasibility of an inexpensive process to manufacture new materials in the form of continuous glass fibers with well controlled chemical composition and dimensions. The process is based on the ability to create and maintain liquids in an undercooled, non-equilibrium state at temperatures below the normal melting point. The viscosity of the liquid increases in the undercooled state, allowing new glass fibers to be formed from materials that normally do not support fiber pulling operations. Extremely large cooling rates occur in the fiber-drawing process, allowing glass formation from melts that would crystallize at slower cooling rates. The proposer has performed research that employed containerless processing to synthesize short fibers from undercooled melts, determine the temperature and process conditions for several materials, and show theoretical feasibility of the proposed method of fiber synthesis, which is amenable to fiber manufacture. The proposed Phase I research is to experimentally demonstrate this process and its applicability to manufacture new glass fibers with optical, fiber-laser, structural and other applications. Successful completion of the proposed work will enable the synthesis of prototype quantities of fibers needed for commercial applications R&D in Phases II and III. ***
