Pilkington Brothers P.l.c.

William Jackson Rhodes

George A Dickinson

Molten glass is conditioned to achieve a desired thermal distribution suitable for feeding the glass to a forming process. The molten glass is fed to the inlet end of a conditioning zone of a tank and glass flow through the conditioning zone is established in a direction towards a remote outlet from that zone with substantially no return flow. The glass is selectively cooled adjacent the inlet to the conditioning zone to achieve a desired temperature profile through the depth and width of a transverse cross section adjacent the conditioning zone inlet so that on flowing through that zone the further conditioning completes transformation of the glass to a state suitable for feeding to the forming process. The cooling is effected at a position selected in dependence on the temperature distribution within the glass and the required temperature profile by passing cooling fluid through at least one fluid cooled pipe immersed in the molten glass located in the forward flowing body of the glass.

Method and apparatus for conditioning molten glass

In a glass melting tank a water cooled barrier extends horizontally across the forward flow of molten glass to control the forward flow towards the working end and a plurality of stirrers, rotatable in phase with each, are arranged side-by-side across the flow path adjacent the barrier.

Glass melting

A stirrer for stirring molten glass comprises a stirring member for immersion in molten glass, a rotary shaft extending upwardly from the stirring member so that in use the shaft may extend above the molten glass and connect the stirring member to a drive device, a platinum or platinum alloy hollow casing surrounding the rotary shaft in spaced relationship thereto, the casing terminating above the stirring member, and separate inlet and outlet means in the casing for introducing and removing a flow of inert gas through the space between the casing and the shaft.

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Prescot, United Kingdom

William Jackson Rhodes