Labyrinth Seals for Float Glass Annealing Gas Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The conventional float glass manufacturing process faces contamination and safety issues due to tin-based floating impurities generated during the annealing process, which also leads to environmental pollution from sulfurous acid gas leakage from the annealing lehr rolls.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of labyrinth seals between the lehr rolls and the lehr housing to prevent sulfurous acid gas leakage, along with collecting nozzles to capture any leaking gas, reduces the discharge of sulfurous acid gas and minimizes environmental pollution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sulfurous acid gas is supplied into the annealing lehr to reduce friction between glass ribbon and lehr rolls, then glass product defects are prevented, but sulfurous acid gas leaks to the external environment causing harm to human body and environmental pollution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies sealing structures including flexible seals and gaskets between the lehr rolls and lehr housing to contain sulfurous acid gas within the annealing chamber. These flexible sealing elements prevent gas leakage while allowing the lehr rolls to rotate freely, thus maintaining both safety and functional reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a sealed inert environment within the lehr housing by introducing inert gas (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) to displace and contain the sulfurous acid gas. This inert atmosphere prevents harmful gas leakage to the external environment while maintaining the lubricating effect on the glass ribbon surface
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the space between lehr rolls and lehr housing casing is reduced to prevent gas leakage, then environmental pollution is reduced, but the structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces labyrinth seals as intermediary structures between the lehr rolls and lehr housing. These seals create a complex gas path that prevents leakage without requiring tight clearance, thus avoiding the need for complex precision manufacturing while effectively containing the sulfurous acid gas
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system is divided into multiple segmented sealing elements (labyrinth seals, gaskets, and sealing rings) distributed at different locations. This segmentation allows each component to be simpler in design while collectively providing effective gas containment, reducing overall structural complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively reduces the amount of sulfurous acid gas used and prevents environmental pollution, enhancing safety and process stability by containing the gas within the annealing lehr housing.
Implementation Method 1
labyrinth seals installed between the lehr rolls and sidewalls of the lehr housing, respectively, to prevent sulfurous acid gas supplied into the lehr housing from discharging out
Implementation Method 2
sulfurous acid gas is supplied into the annealing lehr. The sulfurous acid gas reduces the friction between the bottom of the glass ribbon and the lehr rolls to prevent any defect of a glass product
Data Source
AI summary
An annealing apparatus for a float glass continuously anneals a glass ribbon molded in a float bath. The annealing apparatus includes a lehr housing having an inlet and an outlet for the glass ribbon, a plurality of lehr rolls rotatably installed to the lehr housing in a width direction of the lehr housing, and labyrinth seals installed between the lehr rolls and sidewalls of the lehr housing, respectively, to prevent sulfurous acid gas supplied into the lehr housing from discharging out.