Method for decreasing bubble lifetime on a glass melt surface

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11655176-B2
Application number	US-201917294833-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 14, 2019
Priority date	Nov 21, 2018
Publication date	May 23, 2023
Grant date	May 23, 2023

Abstract

A method of reducing bubble lifetime on the free surface of a volume of molten glass contained within or flowing through a vessel including a free volume above the free surface, thereby minimizing re-entrainment of the bubbles back into the volume of molten glass and reducing the occurrence of blisters in finished glass products. The method includes vaporizing a volatile material, entraining the vapor in a carrier gas to form an enrichment gas, and flowing the enrichment gas into the free volume to increase a concentration of the volatile material at the surface of the molten glass in the vessel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of reducing bubble lifetime in a glass making process, comprising:
forming a first molten glass in a melting vessel;
directing the first molten glass through a conditioning vessel downstream of the melting vessel, the conditioning vessel comprising a free volume above a free surface of the first molten glass in the conditioning vessel; and
flowing an enrichment gas comprising a volatile material into the free volume, the volatile material reducing a surface tension of the first molten glass in the conditioning vessel, wherein a source of the volatile material is a second molten glass.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the flowing an enrichment gas comprises flowing a carrier gas over the source of the volatile material and heating the source of volatile material.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising controlling a concentration of the volatile material in the enrichment gas by controlling a temperature of the source of volatile material.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an atmosphere in the free volume is saturated with the volatilized material.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the conditioning vessel comprises a fining vessel or a stirring vessel.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the volatile material comprises B 2 O 3 .

7. A method of reducing bubble lifetime in a glass making process, comprising:
forming a first molten glass in a melting vessel;
flowing the first molten glass through a conditioning vessel downstream of the melting vessel, the conditioning vessel comprising a free volume above a free surface of the first molten glass;
flowing a carrier gas through a surfactant distribution vessel comprising a source of B 2 O 3 ,
wherein the source of B 2 O 3 is a glass;

heating the surfactant distribution vessel to melt the source of B 2 O 3 and form a second molten glass and a boron-comprising vapor;
entraining the boron-comprising vapor in the carrier gas to form an enrichment gas; and
flowing the enrichment gas into the free volume of the conditioning vessel.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the free volume comprises an atmosphere, and a concentration of B 2 O 3 in the atmosphere is maintained in saturation.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein a partial pressure of B 2 O 3 in the free volume is equal to or greater than a partial pressure of B 2 O 3 within a bubble in the first molten glass.

10. The method according to claim 7 , wherein a partial pressure of B 2 O 3 in the free volume is controlled by controlling a temperature of the source of B 2 O 3 in the surfactant distribution vessel.

11. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the source of B 2 O 3 is pure B 2 O 3 .

12. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the conditioning vessel comprises a fining vessel.

13. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the conditioning vessel comprises a stirring vessel.

14. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising directing the first molten glass from the conditioning vessel to a forming body and drawing the first molten glass from the forming body.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Adkins Laura Rose Van Cott
• Dorfeld William Gurney

Classifications

• C03B5/16

  Special features of the melting process; Auxiliary means specially adapted for glass-melting furnaces · CPC title

• C03B5/225

  Refining (C03B5/18 takes precedence {; Refining agents C03C1/004}) · CPC title

• C03B7/07 Primary

  Electric means · CPC title

• C03B5/20 Primary

  Bridges, shoes, throats, or other devices for withholding dirt, foam, or batch · CPC title

• C03B5/235 Primary

  Heating the glass (C03B5/02, C03B5/18, C03B5/225 take precedence) · CPC title