Investigation of the effect of temper parameters on flatness in flat glass production

Nowadays tempered glass has become an indispensable material used in many applications as it offers superior properties. Tempered glass has also a significant utilization in the domestic appliances sector. In glass tempering process, it is seen as a normal situation for flat glass that it is subjected to strain and lose its original flatness as a result of heat treatment. It is natural to see distortions caused by roller wave or bow in heat-treated glass. However, these deformations which occur in flat glass become a factor that deterirates the product quality both visually and functionally when it exceeds the limit value determined in white goods applications. Even if it is not possible to completely eliminate flatness defects that are a natural consequence of the glass tempering process, it is possible to control them. Keeping the flatness of the glass at the desired levels depends on the proper selection of the values of the temper parameters. In this study, it is aimed to understand the relationship between tempering process parameters and flatness of tempered glass. Experimental procedures were performed in a company producing tempered glass for the white goods sector. The experiment using different values of furnace speed, quench fan frequency and quench distance was modeled using fuzzy logic. The fuzzy logic-based prediction model made it possible to monitor the response of the system instantly and create a process-related database. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was concluded that the best flatness result was obtained when the furnace speed, quench fan frequency and quench distance parameter values were increased to the highest limit.