Prototyping of a large-area heater on a PVC membrane with inkjet-printing of silver ink

A novel approach using inkjet-printer will be used for fabricating low-cost and large-area heaters on a Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, laminated on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane. The PVC membrane with a laminated heater will be used as a de-icing material for roofs in buildings. Silver nanoparticle inks will be printed and patterned to create a unique design that is electrically activated. This project will investigate a method to reduce the printing process time, uniform large-area inkjet-printing, and temporal control the inkjet-printed heater. The acquired information will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of using printed metal lines for large-area heater applications and understand the requirements for designing and implementing the dynamic heater on a flexible PVC substrate. The successful outcome of this project will help further understanding to scale this technology using additive manufacturing approaches and for enhancing the functionality of conventional building materials.

Faculty Supervisor:

William S. Wong

Student:

Mohammad Nouri

Partner:

Pixiu Solutions

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Other

University:

University of Waterloo