Clamp Inflation Unit

In the early 1980s Bracewell and Kent M. Price developed a method for forming parabolic reflectors up to a few meters in diameter from flat sheets without use of a mold or template. The process involved clamping two pieces of sheet metal between two circular steel rings, then forcing the sheets apart by introducing fluid under pressure between them. The stress in the sheet metal rises beyond the elastic limit and plastic flow sets in as the assembly inflates like a balloon. When the desired amount of dishing is reached, the intake valve for the fluid is closed and the pressure is released. This unit includes correspondence, photos, drafts of a 1981 paper on the topic published in Solar Energy, technical memos on the process written by Bracewell for the Australia Telescope's AT series, as well as correspondence and other materials related to a patent application for the process. Material is dated 1979-1983.

Papers of Ronald N. Bracewell

Text

1979

1983

Stanford University Series

0.25 linear feet