Despatch Industries, Minneapolis, Minn., reports that it has developed a Split-Zone Oxidation oven with Novariance Technology that can significantly reduce oxidation cycle time for carbon fibers. By creating two discrete thermal profiles for the upper and lower half of the chamber, the temperature in the upper half of the oven can be increased by several degrees, advancing the rate of oxidation of the carbon fiber within the same process chamber. This will allow manufacturers to aggressively push the oxidation rate to reduce oxidation cycle time, and lower the cost of oxidized carbon fiber.
Novariance Technology, with its patent-pending orifice-plate nozzle structures, eliminates the side-to-side and directional variance inherent in conventional nozzle designs.
“The Split-Zone oxidation oven will lower process variability, widen the window to optimize heat transfer rates to a specific precursor, and double the effective number of zones of control,” says Steve Oman, Despatch Industries General Manager of Carbon Fiber Business. “We estimated that a 25% cycle time reduction, or more, can be achieved with Split-Zone Oxidation technology.” An animated video is available on the Despatch website to learn more.
