Innovations in Auto Glass, Part II

Auto glass is one of the fastest moving areas of technology in the auto sector. There is talk of displaying information on the glass for the driver so they do not have to look down and take their eyes off the road. There is in development a pop-up piece of glass, which will allow driver to see in fog. There is whispering windows, which will send vibrations into the glass to warn you of dangers ahead. There are now devices, which will break up the ice on the window. There are defroster elements in the glass as well as radio antennas. We have double pained glass for sound, bulletproof glass for enemies and safety glass in case of accidents. Now then lets discuss part II of innovations in Auto Glass. Sounds spectacular right?

Now then with frequency power used to break up ice on windshields has a big advantage and this same technology can be used on tires to heat them up and remove ice. Very good and think of the tire safety on school buses and critical vehicles? Now then a systems man for an automotive company, which specializes in Smart-Car Systems in modern automobiles says;

"Another method for de-icing could be similar to windshield washer fluid dispersion. A selector switch located in the vehicle cockpit for windshield washer fluid or de-icing fluid. The fluid could be the same that the airline industry uses - of course, environmentally safe. This would eliminate the necessity for windshield design changes and problematic electrical issues associated with high current heating."

Now then he is also correct because it would be simple that way with less chance of Murphy-ism; hard to disagree. The high-frequency thing also has issues with the bandwidth it might use, as frequency pollution, causing issues with electronics of other sorts. But from what they say, the high-frequency, would only send a couple of pulses and it is really quick as liquid to melt ice away takes longer. Sometimes ice forms so quickly it can catch you off guard like a quick fog sometimes does when the out side air and cabin temperature are quite different all of a sudden of course this is also due to change in barometric pressure, but ice can also form rapidly, especially in an aircraft where the temperature changes on average of 2 degrees per thousand feet.

Another problem they did not talk about or may not be aware of is that the glass these days is quite impressive with different layers of film, self-cleaning and hydrophobic coatings as well as after market appearance people like auto detailers.

Some of the products put on windows are done at the factory level and can come off as easy as with vinegar and water, but a storm water blast, ice or even acid rain they will not (well not as easy-depends). PPG and many other companies make titanium dioxide coatings and many window manufacturers are now making self-cleaning glass, which also holds some advantages to this market. And if the Global Warming Debate is real enough then as things get worse weather will get less predictable from past Farmer's Almanac Data and more fierce storms. (Climate Cliff).

The electric windows work the best in aviation where they heat off the ice. When the liquid is shot onto the windscreen of an aircraft the slip stream of airflow sends it all the way back across the aircraft making it a problem for aircraft paints which are quite high performance for instance PPG has an aircraft paint which weighs in at less than 200 lbs, for an entire color scheme on a Southwest Airlines 737, no kidding. Such de-ice fluid when concentrated sends a constant flow across the fuselage and it looks bad and is hard to clean off. I know this from personal experience; www.AircraftWashGuys.com .

If you put a car in a wind tunnel and cross-shot the de-ice fluid against the window and had a small flair piece on the corners of the windshields, then you could get the fluid to depart the boundary layer and slip stream of the car. This might cause a small decrease in efficiency from parasite drag, but a car going less than 130 mph, would hardly notice since the hyperbolic curve of drag would not be top end yet. Also two NASA style air scoops could suck the fluid back into the openings and send it under the car. I guess the problem is more the sensor to anticipate the driver's needs before it is an issue and then use very little fluid so as not to be a problem.

Rather than getting too fancy as I am discussing. KISS is the best method so in fact the systems SmartCar Software individual is correct. Now then there has been issues on fighter jets where ice broke off and was sucked into the intake and then hit the fan blades and cause the engine to go out and some where the engine came apart, causing a fire and led to ejection and loss of aircraft as the pilot went for the ride of his life in the ejection seat. So simply breaking the ice is the first issue, some believe melting the ice is better. Because when the ice breaks off where does it go? Who will it hurt and what will it hit? There can be damage with Antennas, back trunk lids, wings on the back trunk or even cause a problem for the occupants of cars traveling behind you. Think on this.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs