Investigation of flow dynamics of molten glass in different solar glass production units using radiotracer method

A radiotracer investigation was previously carried out to characterize the flow of the molten glass and to identify the cause of poor quality of the glass sheets produced in an industrial solar glass production unit (SGPU-1) (Pant et al., 2016). Based on the investigations, several flow abnormalitie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied radiation and isotopes 2023-03, Vol.193, p.110662-110662, Article 110662
Main Authors: Goswami, Sunil, Biswal, Jayashree, Sharma, Vijay Kumar, Samantray, Jitendra S., Gupta, Rajeev, Singhal, Sorabh, Pant, Harish Jagat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dead volume
Forehearth
Furnace
Homogenization time
Lanthanum-140
Molten glass
Radiotracer
Residence time distribution
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Summary:A radiotracer investigation was previously carried out to characterize the flow of the molten glass and to identify the cause of poor quality of the glass sheets produced in an industrial solar glass production unit (SGPU-1) (Pant et al., 2016). Based on the investigations, several flow abnormalities were identified and the design of the unit was modified to improve the quality of the product and meet the product specifications. Subsequently, the radiotracer investigation was repeated in the modified unit (SGPU-1m). The results of the study showed that the dead volume and homogenization time in the modified unit were significantly reduced with improvement in mixing of the molten glass as compared to the SGPU-1. Based on the results of the two investigations, a new glass production unit (SGPU-2) with enhanced capacity was designed, fabricated and commissioned. The radiotracer investigation was repeated in the newly designed unit with an objective to evaluate and validate its design. The results indicated that the performance of SGPU-2 was as per the design criteria and the quality of the glass sheets produced was as per the desired specifications. •Radiotracer investigations were carried out in two different solar glass production units.•La-140 was used as radiotracer to measure residence time distributions of molten glass.•Flow parameters of molten glass were estimated and designs of units were evaluated.•Suitable flow models were developed to describe the flow of the molten glass.
ISSN:0969-8043
1872-9800
DOI:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110662