The ingredients are then mixed with water and cullet (recycled glass
debris) to very precise proportions. On the stuffs in an oven at 1550 °
C on average, and it is one of the higher temperatures in the
industry.
Silica is the base component of the glass. It Deputy various ingredients depending on desired qualities. A very small change in dosage sufficient to completely alter the physical properties.
For flat glass, for example glass, is used to process the "float" the molten glass is poured on a molten tin bath. By floating on the surface of the liquid, the ribbon of glass is drawn and cooled. To 500 ° C, it becomes almost solid.
Placed on a squared, it finally cooled in the open air. We then removed the front edges of the cutting plates.
At the exit of the furnace, the glass undergoes a rolling: it passes
between metal rollers that give thickness and desired relief.
Recycling
Glass is one of the more easily recyclable materials: it not only saves raw material, but also energy. Because the recycled glass bottom temperature much lower than silica, and it does not need to add fondant. That said, recycled glass still requires 20-40% of raw material. Today is recycled over 2 million glass bottles per year in France.
Unbreakable glasses
Contrary to popular belief, the glass does not break after a shock but if it is compressed (which can happen after a shock).
To avoid compression, the technique of "quenching" is used: the glass
is quenched (it goes from 600 ° C to 300 ° C in seconds) by blowing cold
air. It therefore freezes faster surface less dense than the heart. A "safe" glass and 5 times stronger than ordinary glass.
©EgoKiefer
Even broken, laminated glass does not break down. Effective against burglaries!
Another enhancement technique is the "lamination" means two glass sheets are connected with a plastic sheet. In case of breaking, the plastic retains the pieces of glass. All car windscreen for example laminated glass.
Composite glasses
Mixing glass with other materials, obtained specific Products: ceramic
(pipes, piping, cooking glassware, and ... flat screen TV), the Glass
(acoustic insulation), glass-gel (anti firewall or anti-radioactivity)
...
Lead by example gives a special glow (that is when the "crystal").
The production of Pyrex (a heat resistant glass used for cooking),
boron is added, which increases its coefficient of expansion.
The boron glass is also used for vitrification of nuclear waste, as it
increases its resistance to runoff that dissolve gradually glass.
Some glasses contain today any more silica! These are oxides of boron, phosphorus or germanium, which cool rapidly from the liquid state. For infrared optical glasses (to see at night), use sulfur or selenium. This glass is usually black, but is transparent to infrared wavelengths.
Surface treatments
Adding an ultra-thin layer of different composition, we can make the
current conductive glass or heat (eg for windshield auto-defrosting)
change its optical properties (anti-reflective, photochromic glasses,
reflective ...) . However, for the armed glasses, metal son are already in the outlet of the furnace in the glass sheet.
©Fibercore Ltd.
The glass fibers are highly resistant and insulating, are used in
telecommunications, electronics, to manufacture wind turbines, light
bulbs, bumper cars or church steeples! Fiberglass is used in the same fabric for clothing resistant to moisture and heat.
Fiberglass
For fibers, glass beads of viscous heated to 1250 ° C are drawn to form
tiny filaments, from 5 to 13 micrometers (thousandths of a millimeter)
in diameter. The filaments are then connected to high speed and then wound around a spool. They were finally applied a protective surface coating.
To further improve the transparency, it is possible to add fluorine to the glass composition.
With mixtures carefully proportioned to shock treatments or new manufacturing processes, the glass does not stop surprising us. A non-polluting, and adaptable to almost all uses abundant material, it exists!