from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Precleaning of float glass is an important step in manufacturing processes based on combining its surface with other materials. Cleanness, together with surface roughness and chemical activity affect adhesion properties of the substrate that are crucial for the quality of the final product. Atmospheric pressure plasma pretreatment was studied as a dry alternative to conventional wet cleaning methods of glass, with the aim at industrial requirements. Diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) and multi-hollow surface dielectric barrier discharge in air at atmospheric pressure were used on soda-lime glass to prove the applicability of thermally non-equilibrium plasma. Surface analyses by water contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were complemented by industrial ball drop and bending tests realized on laminated safety glass. A highly effective and non-invasive surface treatment suitable for large-area processing was achieved with the plasma of DCSBD. Targeting the industrial applications, the DCSBD system was adjusted to the devices to enable contactless and in-line electrode implementation to the manufacturing processes. Thanks to the cooperation with a glass manufacturing company, these DCSBD operating devices proved advancement also under industrial conditions.
Keywords: Atmospheric plasma treatment, glass cleaning, laminated safety glass, DCSBD, Multi-hollow SDBD, adhesion improvement© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.