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Filling Holes in Glass

I'm in the process of doing an experiment on the temperature distribution and lag in a thick piece of glass and was looking for some advice. I've had a 45mm thick piece of glass drilled with water jet cutting (no one in my area was willing to drill glass this thick and the waterjet person was cutting with under a clause of "all care no responsibility") and now need to back fill some of the holes to a particular depths. I was initially thinking of using Nylon cylinders but as it happens the holes aren't circular, some are literally 'pear' shaped. I need to make sure what's used to fill the holes can seal as well, as there will be a layer of thermal conductive material going in for the thermocouples. Is there anything in the market that I could use, a foam perhaps, or even an araldite that could be fed in to the required depths to 1) insulate the hole from the outside and 2) give a good, hard stop for the thermocouple. Thanks for your help Haiiro

Reply to
TB
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Two products to try. Check them out first for your requirements 100% Silicone Sealant also sold as tub caulk, will give a firm, but not hard, water tight seal. As with all adhesives clean the surfaces before applying. E6000 or the Goop products will give a much harder surface. E6000 is self leveling and flows (and stinks a lot) so will require tape or something to keep it from leaking out of the hole. Some of the Goop products variations have variations, like UV resistant and non-flowing, that can easily be found in the descriptions on their web site

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. Somewhere on the site was a table of tradeoffs, but I can't find it now.

Reply to
Mike Firth

At your local hardware store, ask about spray foam insulation.

This stuff sells at around $15 a can, I think, on the doit-yerself level.

Chris (the unwise)

May God make you, and everyone whose lives you touch, HOLY. May you let Him do so.

TB wrote:

Reply to
Chris the Unwise

Two thoughts come to mind. The first would be to either put a nylon bolt/nut in place and then drill that. The second would be to epoxy or use an adhesive to bond a piece of nylon, UHMW, or some acrylic rod in place. I suppose you could even bond in a piece of glass tube by an adhesive or reflowing some glass to hold it in place.

By the way, when you attach the thermocouples be sure that you keep the leads along the surface for a bit away from the measuring point. Otherwise you could introduce measurement errors due to thermal shunting. The TC wires would act like a fin to change the target temperature.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Schuh

Thanks for your help. I'll try the suggestions mentioned and might (memory and time prevailing) get back to you on how it went Haiiro

Reply to
TB

Be careful with silicones. They cure by releasing acetic acid (vinegar) and this will corrode thermocouples or strain gauges. There are some "electronics safe" silicones around.

There are also mirror mounting mastics (cheap, from a hardware store) that are safe with silvered mirror coatings. I think these are a similar modified silicone.

If you need something mechanically stronger, look at solid polyurethane mastics. These are used on boats for the same purposes as silicones on bathtubs - much stronger and resistant to almost anything. I use the Sikkaflex products, from a local boatyard.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Any of the potting compounds from either Dymax or Loctite will work but you will need a UV light source. Black light works as does the sun. There may be some that can be catalyzed but I do not recall. I would suggest you call either of the two companies. They have very good tech service. There is usually a distributor in your area for Loctite but don't know about Dymax. Dewey and Associates is a distributor of Dymax products and has excellent telephone help.

Reply to
Henry Halem

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