It is critical for a glass delivery system (front end system) that bridges the melter and forming to reinsure that glass is conditioned to the requirements of the forming operations while maintaining the highest quality. An improperly designed front end system can cause a number of problems, including poor glass quality and inhomogeneity in the glass thermal profiles. CFD has become an important tool for glass manufacturers to guide and optimize such system designs.

Recently, Dr. Christopher Jian of Owens Corning utilized FLUENT to help in the decision making processes in engineering, operations and business. The temperatures of the front end calculated using FLUENT were in excellent agreement with the measured field data. This established confidence in FLUENT for predictive purposes. FLUENT was then used to optimize the design, and the glass manufacturer was able to achieve significant cost savings.

Vertical temperature profile in a glass delivery system. FLUENT simulation helped to optimize the design and save operating costs. Plot courtesy of Owens Corning.

Courtesy of Owens Corning