Defects caused by regenerative furnace in glass manufacturing with float technique and methods of prevention

Glass has an important place in every aspect of human life and economy. Imperfections in glass production can also cause economic loss to the same extent. Defects in the glass may occur during the stages of preparations, melting, refinement, shaping and annealing of the batch. It is very difficult to find at which step the defects occur during production. Therefore, the defect is can be detected after it occurs on the glass and interventions can be made accordingly. In this study, detailed information is given about the side-fired regenerative furnace process in the production of flat glass with the float technique, and its working principle , defects and prevention methods that may occur in the glasses produced in these furnaces will be discussed is explained. Defects originating from the regenerative furnace during the production of flat glass can be classified as the faults in the furnace working process and the raw material compositionare detected due to the regenerative furnace and raw material during flat glass production was visualized by the stereo microscope. In order to prevent or reduce the amount of defects caused by the regenerative furnace, furnace temperature and operational activities must be kept under control, and internal furnace observations must be done very wellInformation is provided about which measures should be taken to prevent or reduce these errors. In particular, the refractories that make up the furnace structure are deformed as a result of thermal, mechanical and chemical interactions and cause defects in the glass. This is an inevitable mechanism that has continuity, it should be followed well and measures should be taken periodically in a timely manner. The speed of this mechanism is related to the furnace operating conditions. The biggest cause of raw material-related defest is contamination, weighing imperfections, grain sizes, moisture content and blending temperature not being at the desired level. Keeping these under control ensures that the blend-related defects are at a minimum level. Defects detected due to regenerative furnace and raw material during flat glass production were visualized and analyzed with the help of stereo microscope. Information and suggestions about what measures should be taken to prevent or reduce these defects are presented in detail. One of these; With the systems developed within the scope of Industry 4.0, the controls of the furnace temperature, blending and foam lines are made more tightly and more systematically automatically. As a result, a higher quality flat glass can be produced and energy savings can be achieved.