GLASS MELTING PHENOMENA, THEIR ORDERING AND MELTING SPACE UTILISATION

Four key aspects of effective glass melting are defined, namely, the rapid kinetics of partial melting phenomena, consideration of the mutual ordering of the phenomena, high utilisation of the melting space, and effective utilisation of the supplied energy. Relationships for the specific melting performance and specific energy consumption are established. Space utilisation is quantitatively defined and its values determined for an industrial furnace using mathematical modelling. The definitions for specific melting performance and specific energy consumption were used to assess the potential impact of controlled melt flow and high space utilisation on melting efficiency on an industrial scale. The results showed that even partial control of the melt flow, leading to a partial increase in space utilisation, may considerably increase melting performance and lower the specific energy consumption by 10-15%.