Glass-forming process

Apart from the typical glass-forming processes given, which are used in a number of variations, there exist numerous special methods. The common feature of all the glass-forming processes are the problems of rheology and heat transfer. 

Pfaender, H.G. (1983) Schott Guide to Glass, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. A concise overview of glass-forming processes. 

Closed loop process control has been widely adopted in many industries. As an exception, the glass forming process presents particular challenges, which have, until recently limited it s application to this industry. In general there are three major challenges, which must be addressed in order to obtain practical control of the glass forming process ... 

Borates are an essential raw material for glass making. They provide benefits to the glass forming process by way of lower viscosity, lower energy requirements, and lower glass formation onset temperature. Some of the potential benefits borates create in the finished glass are decreased dielectric constant, lower thermal expansion, increased IR absorption and increased chemical resistance. 

The borate source selected for batch formulation can have dramatic effects on the glass forming process. Borate source influences the batch volume, energy consumption, furnace throughput,... 

This technique provides a visual depiction of the entire glass forming process in a video. If the technique is properly executed it can provide a surprising amount of information. The physical behavior of the batch can be observed. Things like batch expansion, the presence of decrepitation (the violent fragmentation of crystals caused by different levels of thermal... 

In addition to the physical batch behavior, other information can be gathered as well. The temperature at which the batch begins to collapse can easily be seen, and also the batch free time can be determined and a comparative analysis can be made between different raw materials. When the whole glass forming process is observed from start to finish it provide a good idea of how a potential borate source can affect the melting process. 

At the time of this publication, not enough data has been gathered to quantify how borate source affect volatility of a glass forming process. 

Cormack used a coordination-dependent potential supplemented by three-body terms [105, 112], slightly modified from Takada s potential. A value of / 15 % was obtained. A discrepancy with the experimental total radial distribution function in the region around 3.7 A was noted and seen as an indication of a too small value of boroxol rings in the simulations. The origin was ascribed to finite-size effects (systems of 1010 atoms at the most were used) and possibly to the glass-forming process [105]. 

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