In the glass industry, the quality of refractories has great influence on the quality of glass, the energy consumption, service life and the cost. Refractories are the basic materials of glass furnaces, so the selection of refractories is very important. 

Since the condition and atmosphere are different in different parts, the requirement for refractories is different. The basic requirements for refractories used in the glass furnaces include high temperature resistance, chemical stability, thermal shock resistance, volume stability, mechanical strength, refractoriness, low pollution potential, etc..

 

The damage of refractories is mainly caused by chemical corrosion and thermal stress. The chemical corrosion rate of refractories depends on the areas, the temperature, the types of glass, the quality of refractories, etc..

 

Fused cast AZS block is the ideal refractory used in the soda lime glass furnaces and boron glass furnaces. When melting E-glass or low alkali glass, due to the acidic corrosion, fused cast AZS and dense zirconia brick are used. 

 

The bottom brick is required to have good wear resistance and good integrity. The multi-layer composite bottom structure is always adopted. The first layer that is in direct contact with glass liquid is fused cast AZS block. Beneath the first layer lies the insulation layer consisting of fireclay bricks. Between the two layers are AZS ramming mix. 

 

Charging area bricks suffer from the corrosion of batch materials, glass liquid and the flame, so it requires refractories with good high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance. AZS 41# WS is always used here. Except the corner brick, AZS 33# is used in other parts. 

 

The flow rate of glass liquid in the doghouse is the biggest, which makes the wear severe and accelerates the corrosion. AZS 41# WS is used here. 

 

The glass liquid in the cooling zone and forming zone is melted and refined. It is the post melting process, so glass defects should be avoided here. The AZS block made by the oxidation technology is used in the cooling zone due to its high exudation temperature of glass phase and low bubbling potential. α-β fused cast alumina block is used in the forming zone. 

 

The main damage of the superstructure and breast wall brick is caused by corrosion and burning. Refractories used here are required to have good corrosion resistance to alkali vapor, high softening temperature under load and good creep resistance. Silica brick, high-quality silica brick and AZS 33 # are suitable here. 

 

The main damage of the front wall brick is also caused by corrosion and burning. The front wall suffers from the wear and corrosion of the batch materials and erosion of the flame. It is one of the weakest parts of glass furnaces. AZS 33# is used here and the high-quality silica brick and sintered AZS brick are combined to be used here too. 

 

Some parts of glass furnaces, such as bubbling hole, dam block, and electrode hole, have their own functions and characteristics of damage. The bubbling block is strongly worn by the rapid cycling stream. The mechanical stress caused by the big temperature difference between inter and outer surfaces may cause the cracking of the bricks. The dam block suffers from the corrosion of high temperature liquid too. Both bubbling block and dam block can employ AZS 41# WS. The electrode block suffers from corrosion of high temperature cycling stream and mechanical stress caused by the temperature difference. The electrode block is required to have good corrosion resistance, good thermal shock resistance and high resistance. The electrical conductivity and the arrangement of electrode should be also taken into account. AZS 41# WS is generally used as electrode block. 

 

Sunrise is a refractory material supplier from China. The main products of Sunrise include fused cast AZS block, fused cast alumina block, mullite brick, zircon brick, alumina bubble brick, sillimanite brick, corundum brick, low porosity fireclay brick, high alumina brick, all kinds of glass furnace ramming masses, etc..