Investigation of the Flow of Glass in Tank Furnaces by the Use of Barium Oxide

JSGT 1931 V15 T128-T140

Much useful and interesting information concerning the flow of glass in tanks has been obtained previously by investigations carried out with the aid of deep blue glass or grains of a nearly insoluble oxide, such as chromium oxide, but such methods are subject to many disadvantages. For instance, the introduction of blue glass or of insoluble grains into colourless glass ruins the glass for commercial purposes, and therefore, for economic reasons,  investigations employing those indicating media can only be carried out when a tank furnace (usually in a very worn condition) is about to be put out, and the experiment has to be stopped at, or shortly after, the initial appearance of the blue glass or black specks at the fabricating machines; thus the opportunities for such investigations are strictly limited, and usually the information gained can only be claimed to apply strictly to worn tanks and to a comparatively short time interval. Further, investigations on dark glass tank furnaces cannot be made easily and precisely with the aid of blue glass or insoluble grains.

E. J. C. Bowmaker & J. D. Cauwood