Abstract:
A glass melt delivery system vessel has at least one sidewall and floor made of a refractory material, such as zirconia, and at least one electrode extending through the refractory material. The at least one electrode is configured to heat a glass melt in contact with the refractory material at an average temperature of at least about 1600 C° without exceeding a breakdown condition of the refractory material in contact with the glass melt.
Abstract:
A melting apparatus is disclosed, the melting apparatus including a melting vessel with a back wall, a front wall, a first side wall, a second side wall and a longitudinal centerline extending therebetween and a width between the first and second side walls orthogonal to the centerline. The melting vessel further includes a first feed screw including a first axis of rotation and a second feed screw including a second axis of rotation, the first axis of rotation positioned between the longitudinal centerline and the first side wall and the second axis of rotation positioned between the longitudinal centerline and the second side wall. The positions of either one or both the first and second axes of rotation are located from a respective side wall a distance that is equal to or less than about 15% of the width of the melting vessel.
Abstract:
An electrically boosted refractory melting vessel including a back wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall and a bottom wall, the melting vessel comprising a longitudinal center line extending from the back wall to the front wall and an overall width orthogonal to the longitudinal center line extending between an inside surface of the first side wall and an inside surface of the second side wall. The melting vessel also includes a length L between the back wall and the front wall, and a width W between the first side wall and the second side wall orthogonal to the center line. A plurality of electrodes extend into an interior of the melting vessel through a bottom wall of the melting vessel, and L/W is in a range from about 2.0 to about 2.4.
Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for producing display quality glass sheets are provided in which the batch materials for making the sheets are melted in a furnace whose glass-engaging surfaces comprise zirconia (ZrO2). By using molybdenum electrodes, instead of the conventional tin electrodes, to electrically heat the molten glass, the wear rate per unit area of the furnace's glass-engaging, zirconia-containing surfaces are reduced by more than 50%, thus reducing zirconia levels (solid+dissolved) in the finished glass by at least a similar amount. As a consequence of this reduction, rejection rates of finished glass sheets are lowered, which is of particular value in the production of glass sheets of large dimensions, as desired by display manufacturers and other users of such sheets.
Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for producing display quality glass sheets are provided in which the batch materials for making the sheets are melted in a furnace whose glass-engaging surfaces comprise zirconia (ZrO2). By using molybdenum electrodes, instead of the conventional tin electrodes, to electrically heat the molten glass, the wear rate per unit area of the furnace's glass-engaging, zirconia-containing surfaces are reduced by more than 50%, thus reducing zirconia levels (solid+dissolved) in the finished glass by at least a similar amount. As a consequence of this reduction, rejection rates of finished glass sheets are lowered, which is of particular value in the production of glass sheets of large dimensions, as desired by display manufacturers and other users of such sheets.
Abstract:
An electrically boosted refractory melting vessel including a back wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall and a bottom wall, the melting vessel comprising a longitudinal center line extending from the back wall to the front wall and an overall width orthogonal to the longitudinal center line extending between an inside surface of the first side wall and an inside surface of the second side wall. The melting vessel also includes a length L between the back wall and the front wall, and a width W between the first side wall and the second side wall orthogonal to the center line. A plurality of electrodes extend into an interior of the melting vessel through a bottom wall of the melting vessel, and L/W is in a range from about 2.0 to about 2.4.
Abstract:
A glass melt delivery system vessel has at least one sidewall and floor made of a refractory material, such as zirconia, and at least one electrode extending through the refractory material. The at least one electrode is configured to heat a glass melt in contact with the refractory material at an average temperature of at least about 1600 C° without exceeding a breakdown condition of the refractory material in contact with the glass melt.
Abstract:
A melting apparatus is disclosed, the melting apparatus including a melting vessel with a back wall, a front wall, a first side wall, a second side wall and a longitudinal centerline extending therebetween and a width between the first and second side walls orthogonal to the centerline. The melting vessel further includes a first feed screw including a first axis of rotation and a second feed screw including a second axis of rotation, the first axis of rotation positioned between the longitudinal centerline and the first side wall and the second axis of rotation positioned between the longitudinal centerline and the second side wall. The positions of either one or both the first and second axes of rotation are located from a respective side wall a distance that is equal to or less than about 15% of the width of the melting vessel.
Abstract:
A glass manufacturing apparatus including a delivery vessel including a body portion with a cylindrical inner surface extending along a central axis of the body portion. In one embodiment, an upper end of the body portion is substantially equal to or lower than an uppermost portion of a travel path in a downstream end of a conduit connected to the delivery vessel. In another embodiment, a central axis of a delivery pipe is offset a distance from the central axis of the body portion of the delivery vessel. In still another embodiment, the delivery vessel includes a conical top including a taper angle from greater than 0° to about 20°. In further embodiments, methods include manufacturing glass with one or any combination of the above-referenced embodiments of glass manufacturing apparatus.