Integrated Approach to Achieve Optimum Design of Glass Furnaces

A great challenge for glass manufacturers these days is to find an answer on how to reduce glass defects, to improve fuel efficiency, and to secure longer furnace campaign life. However, these elements are more likely to influence each other inversely. The long history of glass industries has contributed to decide on furnace configuration and its dimension and refractory selection. The accumulated knowledge should be passed on to the next generation to pave the way for a prosperous future for our industry. We prove the key factors by scientific approach with elemental technologies, such as laboratory modeling, computer simulation on melting and refining behavior, defect analysis, fuel efficiency analysis, refractory analysis and so on. By being lined with those technologies, we assure to propose probably the optimum furnace design to reduce glass defects, especially bubble, seeds, and cat-scratch.