Method of treating a ceramic body

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10604451-B2
Application number	US-201515533578-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2015
Priority date	Dec 11, 2014
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

A method of treating a ceramic body in a glass making process includes delivering a molten glass to a heated ceramic body, the ceramic body including a ceramic phase and an intergranular glass phase, the molten glass being in contact with a surface of the ceramic body. The method further includes contacting the ceramic body with a first electrode and contacting the molten glass with a second electrode. The method further includes applying an electric field between the first electrode and the second electrode to create an electric potential difference across the ceramic body between the first and second electrodes, the electric potential difference being less than an electrolysis threshold of the ceramic phase and the intergranular glass phase. The intergranular glass phase demixes under driven diffusion in the applied electric field and mobile cations in the intergranular glass phase enrich proximate one of the first and second electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of treating a ceramic body in a glass making process, the method comprising:
heating the ceramic body;
delivering a molten glass to the ceramic body while the ceramic body is heated, the ceramic body comprising a ceramic phase and an intergranular glass phase, the molten glass being in contact with a surface of the ceramic body;
contacting the ceramic body with a first electrode;
contacting the molten glass with a second electrode; and
applying an electric field between the first electrode and the second electrode to create an electric potential difference across the ceramic body between the first and second electrodes, the electric potential difference being less than an electrolysis threshold of the ceramic phase and the intergranular glass phase,
wherein the intergranular glass phase demixes under driven diffusion in the applied electric field and mobile cations in the intergranular glass phase enrich within a bulk of the ceramic body proximate to the first electrode.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ceramic body comprises zircon.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electric potential difference across the ceramic body is equal to or less than about 1.8 V.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electric potential difference across the ceramic body is in a range from about 0.2 V to about 1.8 V.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature of the ceramic body during the applying of the electric field is at least about 1000° C.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises platinum.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the first electrode further comprises a yttrium-stabilized zirconia.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a metal oxide.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode comprises at least one of an electrically conductive ceramic and an electrically conductive carbon.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the applying of the electric field comprises inverting polarities on one or more occasions.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ceramic body comprises one or more openings or bores.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more openings or bores comprise the first electrode.

13. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising removing a portion of the ceramic body proximate to the first electrode that is enriched with mobile cations.

14. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising drawing the molten glass from the ceramic body to form a glass ribbon.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Backhaus-Ricoult Monika
• Ketcham Thomas Dale

Classifications

• Y02P40/57

  Improving the yield, e-g- reduction of reject rates · CPC title

• C03B17/064

  by the overflow downdraw fusion process; Isopipes therefor · CPC title

• C03B5/163 Primary

  Electrochemical treatments, e.g. to prevent bubbling or to create bubbles (C03B5/1672, C03B5/185 take precedence) · CPC title

• C04B2235/85

  Intergranular or grain boundary phases · CPC title

• C04B35/481 Primary

  containing silicon, e.g. zircon · CPC title