Provided is a heat reflective member, which is prevented from braking even in a high-temperature environment. It generates no dust in use, and can be washed with a chemical liquid. The heat reflective member has a laminated structure in which quartz glass layers are formed on an upper surface and a lower surface of a siliceous sintered powder layer. The heat reflective member includes: an impermeable layer which is formed at a portion of the siliceous sintered powder layer at an end portion of the heat reflective member, which has a thickness at least larger than half of a thickness of the siliceous sintered powder layer, and through which a gas or a liquid is prevented from penetrating; and a buffer layer which is formed between the impermeable layer and the siliceous sintered powder layer, and which changes in density from the impermeable layer toward the sintered powder layer.

A glazing includes at least one transparent substrate comprising a first major surface and an opposing second major surface, wherein said first major surface is coated with an electrically conductive layer and the electrically conductive layer is absent in one or more regions of the first major surface. At least a portion of the one or more regions of the first major surface, and/or corresponding regions of the opposing second major surface, bears a low-emissivity material, and the one or more regions permit the passage of electromagnetic radiation through the glazing.

Intelligent control of solar transmission through windows promises to reduce energy consumption for thermal comfort in buildings. However, the ability of current smart windows to regulate solar gain based on tunable extinction of phase-change materials is not optimum. A thin-film thermochromic device based on tunable light scattering of hydrogel microparticles of prescribed diameters is reported. In the study, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-2-Aminoethylmethacrylate hydrochloride (pNIPAm-AEMA) microparticles are synthesized, with low phase transition temperature ˜32° C. Notably, the average size of pNIPAm-AEMA particles can vary from 1388 nm at 25° C. to 546 nm at 35° C., leading to unprecedented infrared transmittance modulation of 75.6%, in agreement with the numerical simulation based on Mie theory. A high luminous transmittance of 87.2% is accomplished. The pNIPAm-AEMA device demonstrates tunable scattering with excellent stability and scalability, which may find application in a broader field of light management beyond energy-saving smart windows.

Methods for forming a sintered patch on a silicon-based substrate are disclosed. The methods include applying a patch slurry on the silicon-based substrate, drying the patch slurry on the silicon-based substrate to form a dried patch material, and sintering the dried patch material in an oxidizing atmosphere to form a sintered patch on the silicon-based substrate. The patch slurry includes a patch material containing silicates in a fluid carrier.

Compositions, methods, and articles of manufacture relating to a transparent/translucent insulating material formed by a hybrid silica gel composition made of porous silica particles joined with each other by silane crosslinking through a three dimensional silica network. In one embodiment, the hybrid silica gel includes small porous silica particles, and is made by a process that avoids energy intensive techniques.

“A method for manufacturing a building element with a wooden frame, the method comprising forming the frame of the element of wooden panels, filling the space inside the frame with insulation material, coating the wooden panels) which define the outer surfaces of the frame of the building element to be substantially air-tight, filling the space inside the frame with expanded perlite, and applying vacuum in the space inside the building element by a vacuum pump connected to the element. The invention also relates to such a building element with a wooden frame, as well as a building element system consisting of a plurality of such building elements with a wooden frame.”

Marked up version of the abstract:

A method for manufacturing a building element with a wooden frame, the method comprising forming the frame of the element of wooden panels, filling the space inside the frame with insulation material, coating the wooden panels which define the outer surfaces of the frame of the building element to be substantially air-tight, filling the space inside the frame with expanded perlite, and applying vacuum in the space inside the building element by a vacuum pump connected to the element. The invention also relates to such a building element with a wooden frame, as well as a building element system consisting of a plurality of such building elements with a wooden frame.

Embodiments described include bus bars for electrochromic or other optical state changing devices. The bus bars are configured to color match and/or provide minimal optical contrast with their surrounding environment in the optical device. Such bus bars may be transparent bus bars.

An image display system (10) of the present invention includes: a sheet-shaped glass structure (11) containing a light scattering compound; and a light source (20) that irradiates one surface (11B) of the sheet-shaped glass structure (11) with light, wherein an images is displayed on the other surface (11F) of the sheet-shaped glass structure (11) by the light scattered by the light scattering compound. According to the present invention, in a rear projection-type image display system, image display with high contrast and high luminance is achieved, and a light source or the like disposed on the back surface side of the screen is less likely to be viewed.

Embodiments described include bus bars for electrochromic or other optical state changing devices. The bus bars are configured to color match and/or provide minimal optical contrast with their surrounding environment in the optical device. Such bus bars may be transparent bus bars.

An insulation product for a pipe or vessel having at least one aerogel insulation layer, an additional insulation layer positioned around the at least one aerogel insulation layer, and a protective cladding layer surrounding the at least one aerogel insulation layer and the additional insulation layer.