The world we live in is at ambient temperature. What happens when the temperature gets high or low? Over the last century mankind devised all kinds of devices to deal with temperatures. Heaters or air conditioners for large spaces. Cryogenics and ovens for confined spaces. In the engineering world temperatures are way beyond the well serviced comfort zones. Recently we had some ideas for a new laser window that lives at 700 degrees Celsius, which is 1,292 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is at the sight glass touching it. Very few metals retain their strength at this temperature. Aluminum will melt. Just imagine all the goodness of high-end aluminum bike frames, car parts, cell phone housings just melting away. Steel will soften and barely hang in there pretending to support the load it supposed to carry. So, how in the world do you design a part that holds pressure and resists a force in 700 degree heat? To make things more interesting this part is supposed to be transparent. This is a window into an inferno. Well, we designed it.
A laser window designed for 700 degrees C and 5,080 psi pressure, holding air. It’s designed for this burst pressure, but the operating pressure is less, it’s about 2,000 psi, which gives a factor of safety over 2 for this design. Our FEA calculations for the factor of safety, (FOS) and deformation show the flange details. We used only 1/4 of the flange to speed up the calculations, as the part is symmetrical around its axis.
Materials of construction are quartz, and Alloy 718 Inconel.