Mississippi State University will license a software program
developed by one of its researchers to a worldwide supplier of
industrial process heating products, systems and services.
Ping-Rey Jang of MSU’s Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis
Laboratory recently developed a software program that benefits
closed-circuit television system, or CCTV, used to monitor and
regulate industrial glass production. He said that the software
will help to minimize the occurrence of lost production and costs
dealing with facility restoration.
Within the glass-making process, melting is the most energy
demanding and expensive part of the production of glass. Generally,
it takes two to three times as much energy to make the glass as
before because so much energy is lost as heat. For this reason,
Jang’s new software is beneficial.
The temperature inside a furnace varies greatly, Jang said. He
said that this software, which was developed specifically for a
company in Illinois, allows for the operator to carefully monitor
the temperature inside the furnace and determine its thermal
distribution over a large area with pinpoint accuracy.
“If I put in my software, then I can tell them the temperature
inside the furnace,” Jang said. “On-site diagnostic measurements in
an industrial furnace can provide information that can be used to
characterize furnace performance.” he wrote.
Only CCTV monitors the furnace. An operator can watch only to
see whether the flame inside the furnace is on.
Jang’s software allows the operator to know the temperature
inside the furnace, thus permitting greater possibilities for
efficiency and enhanced quality control.
Charles Rivenburgh, director of the campus intellectual property
and technology licensing office, said, “I think Ping-Rey’s
technology is an excellent match of university research
capabilities with the need in the marketplace for improved
efficiencies to manufacture glass. The real advantage this
technology has is that it can be utilized with existing
equipment.”
The software basically allows the operator to know whether the
furnace is in the correct temperature range for glass production.
Rivenburgh said that its purpose is for “optimizing the temperature
so that the glass is melting properly.”
This new development and business deals offers perks to the
university.
“It benefits the university to develop technology that leads to
process improvements and economic development in general, and this
certainly is a means to achieve that,” Rivenburgh said. “It also
benefits the faculty because they get recognition for their
research.”
Rivenburgh said that MSU has licensed many other technologies as
well.
These properties include technologies such as Bermuda grass
varieties, software technologies and silicon carbide for
electronics.